Syrian rebels claimed responsibility for a series of deadly blasts that hit central Damascus near a hotel being used by the United Nations observer mission, saying the bombs were meant for regime forces, not the U.N.
“The operation was targeting the central security command in response to murders perpetrated by the security forces nationwide,” Abu al-Noor, a spokesperson with the Ahfad Al Rasoul Brigade, told Al Jazeera. He said the Free Syrian Army planned the attack for months.
The announcement comes as a U.N. inquiry said that both the Syrian regime and rebels have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during the escalating conflict.
But the report said that the rebel’s “violations and abuses were not of the same gravity, frequency and scale as those committed by government force and the Shabiha,” according to a U.N. news release.
A Free Syrian Army officer, Lieutenant Abu al-Nour told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television that a government headquarters was totally destroyed in Tuesday’s bomb attack. The attack was aimed at high-ranking lieutenants, who meet in the headquarters every day around the same time.
He said that eight improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, were used to destroy the building.
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