Syrian Forces Stretched, Spy Chief Fourth Bomb Victim
Syrian troops fought on the corpse-strewn streets of the capital and at far-flung border posts on Friday to reverse gains by rebels, who have advanced relentlessly in the 48 hours since much of President Bashar al-Assad’s entourage was assassinated.
Assad’s intelligence chief died on Friday of wounds sustained in Wednesday’s bomb attack, becoming the fourth member of his narrow circle of kin and lieutenants to be killed by a blast that has transformed the 16-month conflict.
Since then, rebels have pushed deep into the heart of the capital and seized control of other towns. On Thursday, they captured three border crossings with Iraq and Turkey, the first time they have held sway over Syria’s frontiers.
Assad has failed to speak in public since Wednesday, adding to the sense that one of the most strategically important countries in the Middle East is being torn from the grasp of his family, which has ruled it as a personal fiefdom for more than four decades.
The next few days will be critical in determining whether Assad’s government can recover from the bombing, which wiped out much of his command structure in a single blow and destroyed his clan’s aura of invulnerability.