Funeral for victims of alleged suicide attack, observers, info min
(7 Jan 2012) 1. Arab League observers (in orange waistcoats) arriving in Midan neighbourhood for the funeral of the victims of the alleged suicide attack on Friday 2. Syrian regime supporter shouting at Arab League observers, UPSOUND: (Arabic) "We in Syria tell you that we will put anyone who thinks of assaulting Syria under the ground. There will be no life for anyone while Syria is being destroyed, Syria, the last Arab castle. No one in the world could assault the doctrine of (Prophet) Muhammad. We have been living under it for sixty years. May God bless (Prophet) Muhammad and all his family. Everyone that believes in (Prophet) Muhammad and in his religion knows that God does not accept all these deeds, the deeds of the misleading channels. Be aware of Syria. Have your job done and go away; we swear to God you are not welcome any more." 3. Arab League observers are escorted through crowds in Midan on their way to the Al-Hassan Mosque for funeral prayers, crowd chanting pro-Assad chants 4. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Adnan Mahmoud, Syrian Information Minister: "The escalation of terrorist attacks to this new level reflects the nature of people targeting Syria. It also illustrates the bankruptcy and disastrous failure of the tools of this project, on both a logistical and field level, as well as failure on the political level, on mobilising public opinion in Syria and on the level of the states supporting this kind of project in our area and the western states including the United States of America." 5. Grieving man crying inside mosque 6. Various of men inside mosque as they bend over to pray, coffins lined up in front of them 7. Grand Mufti of Damascus, Sheikh Bashir al-Bari, talking to people inside Al-Hassan Mosque 8. Various of coffins carried out of mosque after prayers, huge crowds, flag waving 9. Coffin is loaded in vehicle to be transported for burial 10. Pan left from exterior of Al-Hassan Mosque to wide shot crowds in Midan STORYLINE: Thousands of regime supporters gathered at a mosque in the Syrian capital Damascus on Saturday for funeral prayers for policemen killed in an alleged suicide bombing on Friday, as the government vowed to respond with an "iron fist" to security threats. Coffins bearing 11 policemen, covered with Syrian flags, were brought to the Al-Hassan Mosque in the Midan neighbourhood for the prayers, a day after the explosion ripped through an intersection in the area, killing 26 people and wounding 63, according to authorities. Officials said the attack was a suicide bombing, the second in two weeks to hit the normally quiet Syrian capital. Syrian President Bashar Assad said the attacks were proof that the country was being targeted by "terrorists." But the country's opposition demanded an independent investigation, accusing forces loyal to the Syrian regime of being behind the bombing to tarnish a 10-month-old uprising against Assad. The bombings have coincided with a mission by Arab League observers investigating Syria's crackdown on the protest. In the hours after the bombing, Syrian troops opened fire on demonstrators holding anti-Assad sit-ins in two parts of the country, killing one and wounding at least 20, activists said. Damascus' Midan neighbourhood is one of the few parts of the heavily controlled capital that have seen protests against the regime. The Al-Hassan mosque, where Saturday's prayers took place, has in the past been a starting point for protests following Friday prayers. But on Saturday, it was swamped by Assad supporters. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
