Gunmen repelled at U.S. Embassy in Syria.

DAMASCUS, Syria - Armed Islamic militants attempted to storm the U.S. Embassy in a brazen attack Tuesday, the government said. Four people were killed, including three of the assailants. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but an al-Qaida offshoot group was suspected, Syria’s ambassador to the United States said.

No Americans were hurt in the attack, in which the militants used automatic rifles, hand grenades and at least one van rigged with explosives.

The al-Qaida offshoot group, called Jund al-Sham, has been blamed for several attacks in Syria in recent years, the Syrian ambassador, Imad Moustapha, said in comments to CNN.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praised Syrian security agents for repelling the attack, but added it was too early to know who may have been behind it. “I think it’s very early to try and speculate why this may have happened,” said Rice, speaking at a news conference in Nova Scotia Tuesday with her Canadian counterpart, Peter MacKay.

The attackers apparently did not breach the high walls surrounding the embassy’s white compound in the city’s diplomatic neighborhood.