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DAMASCUS, Syria - Islamic militants attempted to storm the U.S. Embassy in a brazen attack Tuesday using automatic rifles, hand grenades and at least one van rigged with explosives, the government said. Syrian security forces killed three of the attackers.

The assailants apparently did not breach the high walls surrounding the white embassy compound in a diplomatic neighborhood of Damascus. But a Chinese diplomat was slightly injured by a stray bullet during the attack, China's government news agency said.

A witness said one Syrian guard outside the embassy also was killed, but the government did not immediately confirm that. At the embassy in Damascus, as at most American embassies worldwide, a local guard force patrols outside the compound's walls while U.S. Marine guards are mostly responsible for guarding classified documents and fighting off attackers inside the compound.

Witnesses also said the gunmen tried to throw hand grenades into the embassy compound, shouting "Allah Akbar!" or "God is great!" It was not clear if any of the grenades made it over the walls, which are about 8 feet high.

The attack came at a time of high tension between the United States and Syria over the recent Israeli-Hezbollah war in neighboring Lebanon, and a time of high anti-American sentiment in Damascus.

Syria has seen previous attacks by Islamic militants. In June, Syrian anti-terrorism police fought Islamic militants near the Defense Ministry in a gunbattle that killed five people and wounded four.

After Tuesday's attack, pools of blood lay splattered on the sidewalk outside the embassy, along with a burned car apparently used by the attackers. A sports utility vehicle with U.S. diplomatic tags had a bullet hole through its front window, and the glass windows of nearby guard houses also were shattered.

There were conflicting reports of what happened.

Syrian TV said one car was rigged with explosives but never was detonated by the attackers. But one witness said a second car did explode, and TV footage from the scene showed a burned car.

The Syrian Interior Ministry, which is in charge of police, said a fourth attacker was wounded in the incident, which it called a "terrorist attack." The report, carried on state-run television, said anti-terror units brought "the situation under control" and an investigation was under way.

In Washington, a State Department spokesman confirmed the attack by "unknown assailants" but had few details.

"Local authorities have responded and are on the scene," said spokesman Kurtis Cooper said. He said he had no further information.

State television said four armed attackers "attempted to storm" the embassy, using automatic rifles and hand grenades. Syrian security guards attacked the gunmen, killing three and wounding a fourth, TV said.

The attackers came in two cars and parked one that was rigged with explosives in front of the embassy but did not blow it up, state-run TV reported. Explosive experts dismantled the bomb, it said.

But a witness told The Associated Press that two gunmen stopped a car on the street in front of the embassy, got out of the car, shot at the Syrian sentries in front of the building's entrance and then detonated the car.

The witness, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the security personnel shot back, and security forces in the area rushed to the scene.

Television footage showed a delivery van loaded with pipe bombs strapped to large propane gas canisters outside the Embassy. Had the bombs detonated, the explosions would have caused massive damage.

The footage also showed the charred remains of a smaller car parked several feet behind the van.

A Syrian who works at the American Embassy, contacted by telephone, said there were no U.S. casualties. The employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the incident started just after 10 a.m.

Damascus has been hit by militant attacks in the past. In April 2004, four people were killed in a clash between Syrian police and a team of suspected bombers in the diplomatic quarter of Damascus.

The authorities at that time accused Islamic militants of trying blow up an explosives-laden car near the Canadian embassy.

probably when foreign polcies are changed

Yeah, so instead of protesting to the Syrian government for them to do something, why don't you just storm the American embassy and shed some blood. Great idea.

it's funny how a lot of your replies are towards people who remotely criticise the U.S. government be it directly or indirectly. Not a big deal, just an observation.

You are right, I should be supporting radical Muslims who resort to violence first before trying to do anything non-violent and political first.

Notice how so many of you criticise the US government when your governments or countries are guilty of the same hypocrisy in many cases? Just an observation.

i am curious to find out how one realises if they have tried non-violent actions first? we don't because it doesn't make headlines.... How so many of you you ask? "you" meaning muslims? look around the world, it's not just muslims who criticise the US government. I am from Canada and the majority of people on the ground are highly critical of the US government, even though now a right wing government is in place. The reason why people crticise the U.S. is because they commit state funded terrorism outside their own soil, plane and simple. You don't see China going about killing people in the middle east or in South America. You don't see France doing any of this. so tell me, why are people so critical of the U.S. government, and please don't say because it's the land of the free...

If you really had read any of my posts on this forum you will plainly see that I feel free to criticise the US often. I don't see how me disagreeing with people storming the US embassy and killing people makes me pro-US. Can you explain how it makes me so?

Kanelli, I am not saying your are pro-US, I just noticed how you sometimes jump all over a post when it criticises the US/UK government because you feel it is hyprocritical of them to do so due to the fact their own government does some of the same things the US government does.

I criticised armed gunman storming an embassy to kill people. I would have said the same thing if we were talking about an embassy from any other country. Methinks you are jumping to conclusions about my motives.

nahhhh, I don't think you have any motives.... It's just open, intelligent dialogue

But you know, I feel that some people only want to hear others agree with them.

Let's say a group of expats in Dubai are hanging out in the food court of a mall. A bomber tosses a couple of grenades in the middle of them and blows them all to bits. Men, women and children. Should the expats on this site say, "Yeah, you know what - they deserved it. Their governments are oppressing the Middle East." Too bad for them, but bravo to those who lobbed the grenades in support of the Middle East and Islam.

Anyone who wouldn't comdemn this behaviour would not be showing a great chatacteristic shown by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) - compassion. Killing of innocent civilians is wrong in basic Islam and god says they will be punished in the hereafter for their actions. I don't believe there is a single sane muslim on this forum who believes in shedding an innocent life. I have never met a muslim (and I interact with many on a daily basis) who remotely act/behave like anything that is being sensationalised and written about in today's media. The question is, why are westerners being attacked? what is the answer to this question?

Africa keeps getting abused and neglected by the international community, but you don't see Africans all over the world storming embassies to shoot people, or sending suicide bombers into public areas to kill as many people as possible.

Moderate Muslims will ask that question, but then ultimately they sympathise with the terrorists. Radical Islam is growing in many places because moderate Muslims aren't speaking out or doing enough to talk some sense into those people. The attitude is that the West deserves whatever it gets, even if it does go against the word in the Quran.

Hello folks,

Sorry for jumping into the discussion but I coulnt help noticed that tdot and kanelli are both arguing for nothing.

Blaming west isnt going to solve the problem nor believing that muslims radicals are responsible for each and every acts of terrorism happened in the west. You never know govt some times do these too and west is no exception.

We all see what media wants us to see. Media is showing wars online. World have heard (or we now see old footage of the war) world war 1 and 2 which was fought among the west mostly.

I am sure if there was media present at that time, as it is today, where it is basically exploiting the minds of common people by showing children dying, women being raped , prisoners being abused (which happens in all wars) right on spot 24x7 and in real time, am sure there would be many europeans terrorists created at that time.

Ask yourself if you see your people being killed and shown on tv live, you will most likely to get affected emotionally and chances are you will react by playing in the hands of politicians who actually create these terrorists. That explains why younger muslim generation turned to acts of terror because they can easily brainwashed or let me say it is perfectly natural for young muslims (like 16+) to see videos of crimes created in bosnia by serbs and then went to afgan to take a month training and take oaths to take revenge some way.

Hearing the news on radio is a lot different than actually watching it on tens of channels showing how cities are being levelled by f16s. It is not possible that kids watch these scenes and not get affected.

So partly i blame media for the whole situation , yes it has played its positive parts but still there must be some limits set. These war crimes were there in the past in all wars nothing new. What is new is that humans now have bombs which they can carry and kill hundreds of people, military tech is to blame i guess which is mostly exported by western countries, some countries are the largest supplier of military h.w while they dont even have a regular army, how ironic it is.

Africa does not have what middle east have. People die of hunger in africa and no one cares. I read some where that some people in west see middle east as just land of oil reserves and nothing more.

I am really lost whats happening in the world,really indeed, because when you hear people from both sides they both have arguments that are true to certain extent and then you are lost to know where lies the line between right and wrong, it has become so thin.

I think might has always been right. So I wonder if the table is turned and muslims have the power, what guarantee is that they will not be doing the same which they blame west doing to them?

So my point being GOD (there is a debate that i have seen some threads about is there a god or no, but apart from that) does not like those men who make troulbes mischief in the land, it does not say in Kuran GOD does not like christians making problem in the land. So I guess there are people in every community that roam on this planet and do all sort of crimes and they are the ones all human being should fight.

Cheers

kanelli wrote:Africa keeps getting abused and neglected by the international community, but you don't see Africans all over the world storming embassies to shoot people, or sending suicide bombers into public areas to kill as many people as possible.

Moderate Muslims will ask that question, but then ultimately they sympathise with the terrorists. Radical Islam is growing in many places because moderate Muslims aren't speaking out or doing enough to talk some sense into those people. The attitude is that the West deserves whatever it gets, even if it does go against the word in the Quran.

well foreign countries rarely or directly intervene in government matters and there hasnt been war by west against any major african country so analogy is not valid here. Nah i know many moiderates who speak against but dont have enuf support. even if west government support em otehr muslim community will say they are puppets.

kanelli wrote:But you know, I feel that some people only want to hear others agree with them.

Let's say a group of expats in Dubai are hanging out in the food court of a mall. A bomber tosses a couple of grenades in the middle of them and blows them all to bits. Men, women and children. Should the expats on this site say, "Yeah, you know what - they deserved it. Their governments are oppressing the Middle East." Too bad for them, but bravo to those who lobbed the grenades in support of the Middle East and Islam.

Uh oh, looks like a future suicide bomber to me

valkyrie wrote:

kanelli wrote:But you know, I feel that some people only want to hear others agree with them.

Let's say a group of expats in Dubai are hanging out in the food court of a mall. A bomber tosses a couple of grenades in the middle of them and blows them all to bits. Men, women and children. Should the expats on this site say, "Yeah, you know what - they deserved it. Their governments are oppressing the Middle East." Too bad for them, but bravo to those who lobbed the grenades in support of the Middle East and Islam.

Uh oh, looks like a future suicide bomber to me

well kanellipicture this..........americanos want mroeoil so they along with albertans conquer canada saying canada is ass country and we wanna educate em.......canadains dont like this and protest....but americanos bomb the goddman place. No harper cries to world community to help us but rest of the world just moans and does nothing ..... meanwhile 200 ppl dies in toronto and americans classify some as terrorists and some as collateral damage. So in this case how will canadians fight? our troops can never fight vface 2 face with americans and then they fight guerilla warfare as stalingrad and south lebanon.then again thousands die....now with all this happening world still sits dumb...........so the question here is would ur mind be occupied with disaster in ur hometown in Toronto or with darfur crisis? I dont accept suicide bombing but some ppl cant control their emotions and show dissent in peaceful manner so they go and terrorise americans as some muslims, tamil tigers , kurds , chuptas amd ira have done......if u question one of em y are they doing ....they say let those ppl feel the pain we have felt. so simple solution take ur troops out and we stop

check out this link http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/5334594.stm

I agree that Canada should take all personnel out of the Middle East. We should also stop all trading with the Middle East as well so as not to have any economic manipulation going on either.