Syrian police fight Islamic militants near state offices

Published Saturday, June 3, 2006

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - Syrian anti-terrorism police fought Islamic militants yesterday near the Defense Ministry in a gunbattle that killed five people and wounded four, the government said.

The shootout came after the police heard an "extremist terrorist unit" was in the area and engaged it, the Interior Ministry said. One police officer was killed, and two were wounded, it said.

The director-general of state broadcasting, Fayez Sayegh, said police killed four militants and detained six, two of them wounded.

The Interior Ministry said the captured militants were being interrogated about their motives.

The gunbattle was near Omayyad Square, which is home to the Defense Ministry, the headquarters of state radio and television, the Ministry of Higher Education and the Customs Department.

Security forces have had occasional shootouts with Islamic militants in Damascus before, but yesterday was the first time such a fight took place so close to the heart of government.

The government did not name the militant group. But the official Syrian Arab News Agency said all 10 militants were members of a "takfiri" group. "Takfiri" is a Sunni Muslim extremist ideology that takes the view: "You are either with us or against us."

Sayegh said all the militants were Syrians.

The official news agency said weapons had been supplied by "a neighboring country to carry out sabotage attacks against vital targets."

In the past, Syria has alleged that weapons entered the country from Lebanon.