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Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

Syrian Prime Minister Defects, Rebels Claim 3 Iranian Hostages Killed In Attack

Dawn Megli |
August 7, 2012 | 6:59 a.m. PDT

Executive Producer

Hijab's defection comes just a few weeks after a bomb attack which killed four of Assad's top officials. (Courtesy Creative Commons/ FreedomHouse)
Hijab's defection comes just a few weeks after a bomb attack which killed four of Assad's top officials. (Courtesy Creative Commons/ FreedomHouse)
Syrian rebels claim three Iranian hostages were killed during a government air attack on a Damascus neighborhood and threatened to kill the remaining hostages if the military did not halt its attacks, Reuters reported. 

The hostages were reportedly killed when an government air attack collapsed the house they were in. A brigade of the Free Syrian Army captured 48 Iranians on Saturday, claiming they were members of the elite Revolutionary Guards. Iran has maintianed they were pilgrims on their way to visit a Shi'ite holy site. 

Reports of the hostage deaths came the same day state television announced Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijab had been fired. Hijab left with dozens of family members to join the rebels. This is the latest in a series of high-profile departures from the Assad regime. Hijab was the highest-ranking Sunni member of the government, according to the Wall Street Journal

Despite his high position, his defection is seen as a largely symbolic defeat for the regime. Hijab's position made him privvy to financial secrets but he was not involved in military or security operations. 

 

Read the story at Reuters and the Wall Street Journal.

Follow Neon Tommy's coerage of the Syrian conflict

Reach Executive Producer Dawn Megli here.



 

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