AMMAN, (Reuters) – Syrian army defectors attacked an intelligence complex on the edge of Damascus last night, in the first reported assault on a major security facility in the eight-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, activists said.
Members of the Free Syrian Army fired shoulder-mounted rockets and machineguns at a large Air Force Intelligence complex situated on the northern edge of the capital on the Damascus-Aleppo highway at about 2:30 a.m. (0030 GMT). A gunfight ensued and helicopters circled the area, the sources said.
Together with Military Intelligence, Air Force Intelligence is in charge of preventing dissent within the army. The two divisions have been instrumental in a crackdown on the uprising against Assad, which the United Nations says has killed 3,500 people.
