From Syria's Prez to PM, assassination attempts during Syrian conflict

Beirut: Syrian opposition forces have targeted government officials, army and police officers and civil servants in their campaign to topple President Bashar Assad’s regime.

Here is a list of some of the major assassination attempts in Syria since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011:

—April 29, 2013: A bomb attached to a parked car detonates as Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi’s car drove by. Syrian state media reported the prime minister was not hurt in the bombing in the upscale Damascus neighborhood of Mazzeh, which is home to many embassies and officials in Assad’s regime.

—March 21, 2013: A suicide bomber blows himself up in a mosque in central Damascus, killing Sheik Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti, a leading Sunni Muslim preacher and outspoken supporter of Assad, and 41 others.

—December 12, 2012: A car bomb targets the Interior Ministry in Damascus, wounding Interior Minister Mohammed al-Shaar. Initially, Syrian state media said al-Shaar was not hurt in the blast, but “several” were killed. News of his injuries emerged a week later, after he was brought to neighboring Lebanon for treatment.

—July 18, 2012: A blast at the Syrian national security building in Damascus during a high-level government crisis meeting kills four top regime officials, including Assad’s brother-in-law and the defense minister.

Associated Press