Syrian security forces arrest al-Qaeda suicide bomber, reports state TV
Alleged terrorist says other suicide attacks planned against mosques in Damascus
UN observers in a suburb of Damascus inspect the prayer hall of the Sayyida Zeinab shrine after it was damaged by a car bomb on Thursday. (photo credit: Bassem Tellawi/AP)
Syrian state television reported Thursday that security forces had apprehended an al-Qaeda terrorist who planned to blow himself up during Friday prayers at the A-Rifai mosque in Damascus.
During interrogation, the man, Mohammed Hossem a-Sdaki, revealed that there were other suicide bombers planning to strike other Damascus mosques on Friday.
Earlier on Thursday, a suicide bomber detonated his van packed with explosives in a Damascus suburb, wounding 14 people and damaging one of Shiite Islam’s holiest shrines.
The violence in Syria has spiraled out of control since a popular uprising against the regime of President Bashar Assad began in March 2011. Activists claim that over 14,000 people have been killed in the conflict.