Syria shot four men trying to detonate a car bomb outside the US embassy in Damascus, killing three and wounding the other, the BBC reports. One bomb detonated but so far no American casualties have been reported:

A bomb attack on the US embassy in Damascus has been foiled by local security forces, Syrian officials say.

Attackers tried to drive two cars at the embassy compound but three men were killed by guards and a fourth was captured, the interior minister said.

One car bomb went off but a second failed, he told Syrian state TV, adding that it was being examined for clues.

A member of Syria's security forces was also killed but there are no reports of US casualties.

The attack started as the perpetrators ran towards the embassy compound, firing automatic weapons and shouting religious slogans, witnesses reported. They threw grenades at the wall and at some point tried to set off the car bombs, but were foiled in that attempt by Syrian security forces. Two of them ran into a nearby building, but the Syrians gunned them down.

Coming on the heels of the statement by Ayman al-Zawahiri of their new intention to target Gulf states as well as American interests in the region, one has to wonder whether this was an al-Qaeda event. It seems very unlikely. This attack appears very ill-conceived, hardly the model of planning and coordination that AQ attacks usually use. The foolishness of a daylight frontal attack on a guarded embassy also goes outside the pattern of AQ attacks, in that they usually target unarmed civilians who can't shoot back at the brave jihadis.

At first blush, this looks like an operation planned and executed by people with more emotion than intellect. Perhaps they thought the Syrian security forces might join them in an act of war against the United States, but if so, their last moments on this mortal coil showed them the error of their judgment.

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» Soft targets II from The Florida Masochist
The Damascus attack failed, it wasn't the soft or easy target the militants hoped it would be. More attacks are certain to come, and TFM still believes the targets may not necessarily be the ones you most expect. [Read More]

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» Islamic Militants Attempt to take Over U.S. Embassy in Damascus from Webloggin
The key to keep in mind here is that this was yet another attempt by Islamic militants to do harm to American citizens. It is a pretty sad day when our very own state department can’t bring itself to say the words that all American’s need to hear. ... [Read More]

Tracked on September 12, 2006 9:30 AM

» Leaping to conclusions from Public Secrets: from the files of the Irishspy
In my email this morning, I found a message from Stratfor bearing the ominous headline: Syria: Embassy Attack Linked to Militants? It seems someone tried to blow up our embassy in Damascus earlier today. According to the AP report: Four [Read More]

Tracked on September 12, 2006 9:57 AM

» U.S. Embassy Attacked from Cop The Truth
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Tracked on September 12, 2006 2:12 PM