DAMASCUS , 14 September 2006 — Syria suggested yesterday that its efforts in foiling a brazen daylight attack on the US Embassy in Damascus could pave the way for an improvement in tense relations between the two nations.
Syria earned rare praise from US President George W. Bush’s administration for thwarting Tuesday’s attack, which saw Islamist gunmen using mortars, automatic weapons and explosives-rigged vehicles to try to storm the compound.
Three attackers and one Syrian security guard were killed in a gunbattle outside the embassy following the unprecedented attack in Damascus that also left 14 people injured but no American casualties. A fourth gunman died of his injuries in hospital, state-run SANA news agency said yesterday morning, adding that all four assailants had been Syrian nationals.
