Syrian ministers killed in Damascus blast

The bombing, which for the first time in a 16-month anti-regime uprising managed to strike at Assad\'s inner core, adds urgency to a UN Security Council debate on Syrian sanctions later on Wednesday, when a showdown between Western powers and Russia and China is expected.

Officials said the bomber struck as ministers and security officials were meeting at the heavily guarded National Security headquarters in Damascus.

Interior minister Mohammed al-Shaar and General Hisham Ikhtiyar, head of National Security, were among those listed as wounded in the bombing, which came on the fourth day of an offensive launched by rebels to capture Damascus.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights called Shawkat\'s death "a severe blow to the Syrian regime since he played the main role in operations by regular forces to crush the revolution."

Syria\'s army said after the bombing it would "continue fighting terrorism."

"The terrorist act increases the armed forces\' determination to clean the country of terrorist groups," it said in a statement.

Rajha, a Christian, was defence minister, deputy army chief and deputy head of the Council of Ministers. Assad himself is overall commander of the military.

Shawkat was deputy defence minister and a former military intelligence chief.

The National Security branch -- a linchpin of Syria\'s security apparatus -- is headed by General Hisham Ikhtiyar, who was also wounded in Wednesday\'s blast.

The brazen attack on regime insiders came as battles raged across Damascus and after the Free Syrian Army (FSA) -- comprising defected soldiers and civilians who have taken up arms against Assad\'s forces -- warned the government to "expect surprises."

Columns of black smoke rose over the capital, with the Local Coordination Committees, which organises anti-regime protests on the ground, reporting that Qaboon and Barzeh neighbourhoods were bombarded by loyalist forces.

It also said there was less traffic than normal in the city where fighting has raged since Sunday, with the rebels announcing a full-scale offensive dubbed "the Damascus volcano and earthquakes of Syria."

Regime forces and the FSA clashed in the Al-Midan and Zahira districts of Damascus as well as at Assali south of the city, the LCC said.

Rebel forces on Tuesday said the battle to "liberate" Damascus had begun, as heavy fighting raged with the regime using helicopter gunships in the capital for the first time.

As the fighting inched closer to the regime\'s nerve centre, FSA spokesman Colonel Kassem Saadeddine said "victory is nigh" and the struggle would go on until the city was conquered.

"We have transferred the battle from Damascus province to the capital. We have a clear plan to control the whole of Damascus. We only have light weapons, but it\'s enough."

"Expect surprises," Saadeddine added.

Russia gave notice that it would not back a Western-backed UN resolution on the crisis as it would mean taking sides with a revolutionary movement.

"A decisive battle is in progress in Syria. Adopting the resolution would mean outright support of a revolutionary movement," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Moscow.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said by contrast that Syria is tipping into chaos and collapse, and that a strong UN Security Council stand is needed to push for the creation of a transition government.

"It is clear that the situation is deteriorating rapidly," Hague told reporters during a visit to Lithuania.

"The intensity of fighting is increasing, there are of course many reports now of fighting every night in Damascus itself, and this is reflected in the increasing flow of refugees," he added.

In Beijing, UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged the Security Council to act to stop the bloodshed in Syria, after holding talks with Chinese leaders hours ahead of a vote on fresh sanctions.

Ban said the Security Council must unite and take action on the "very serious" situation in Syria, after meetings with China\'s President Hu Jintao and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.

The Security Council will on Wednesday vote on a Western resolution renewing the UN mission in the country that calls for sanctions if the regime does not pull back heavy weapons.

China has twice joined Moscow during the 16-month conflict to block resolutions critical of Damascus.

Ban has already urged China to use its influence to back a peace plan by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, who is calling on the Security Council to order "consequences" for any failure to carry out his six-point plan.

But China has repeatedly warned against outside intervention in Syria.

Representatives of the Syrian National Council (SNC) -- an umbrella opposition group -- met ambassadors from the 15-nation Security Council, including Russian envoy Vitaly Churkin, to press them to back sanctions.

The current 90-day UN mission in Syria ends on Friday and if no resolution is passed by then, it would have to shut down this weekend, diplomats say.

The Observatory, meanwhile, said at least 93 people were killed nationwide on Tuesday, among them 48 civilians, adding to its toll of more than 17,000 dead since the revolt erupted in March last year.

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