Blast in P.M’s building
NZPA Damascus A powerful explosion started a fire that raced through a Syrian Government building yesterday, killing.at least three employees, officials said.
The' Prime Minister (Mr ■ Abdul Raouf Kasm) and • other Cabinet Ministers whose offices are in the fivestorey building were away ' attending a special session of . Parliament at the time. Mr Kasm and his 37-mem- • ber Cabinet would have been in their routine weekly meet- . ing in the building if the ■ special session had not been ’■ called. There were 300 { people in the building. ; A Syrian official said the i explosion was caused by a ■ short-circuit in the diesel and 1 refrigeration units. An inves- : tigation was under way to ■ determine whether sabotage was involved.
The Socialist Baath Party regime has been locked in a bloody confrontation with the ' underground Muslim Brotherhood, an outlawed fundamentalist movement ' held responsible for scores of ; bombings and assassinations in Syria. But the underground cam- ■ paign appeared to have tapered off after the missile ; crisis broke out between ; Syria and Israel in Lebanon j last April. I
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Press, 19 August 1981, Page 8
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177Blast in P.M’s building Press, 19 August 1981, Page 8
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