Defence minister Daoud Rajiha appeared on Syrian TV regularly
Syria's defence minister and his deputy, President Assad's brother-in-law, have died in a suicide bombing in Damascus, state TV says.
Daoud Rajiha and Assef Shawkat had been at a meeting attended by the national security chief and interior minister, who were also said to have been critically wounded.No footage has yet emerged of the attack on the national security HQ.
It comes as rebels claim to have launched an offensive on the capital.
The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) and a jihadist group calling itself Lord of the Martyrs Brigade both said they were behind the bombing.
Hours after the attack, several explosions were reported close to the base of an army division responsible for guarding the presidential palace. However Syria's information minister denied that they had taken place.The army's fourth division, commanded by the president's brother, Maher al-Assad, is considered one of the army's best-equipped.
Analysis
In the space of two days, some of President Assad's inner circle of power, including his brother-in-law, have been killed, an army barracks overlooking the presidential palace has been engulfed in flames, and clashes have been moving closer to the heart of the capital.
It doesn't necessarily mean the end is imminent, as opposition circles and armed rebels on the ground clearly believe.
The battle for Damascus has barely begun. If it remains a purely military affair, the regime still has a daunting superiority in weaponry and manpower.
But with international diplomacy effectively paralysed, the pressure within the crisis seems to be building up, to an intensity where more surprises may be expected.
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