Thousands attend Syria blast victims' funerals

The funeral prayers, at Damascus's central Omayyad Mosque, came as an Arab League delegation met Foreign Minister Walid Muallem to discuss the arrival of a team to oversee a deal aimed at ending nine months of bloodshed.

Mourners prayed before flag-draped coffins, while a crowd outside waved portraits of embattled President Bashar al-Assad and banners of the ruling Baath party as police stood watch.

Religious Affairs Minister Abdel Sattar al-Sayyed read out a statement from Christian and Muslim religious leaders “denouncing the criminal attacks on Friday ... and the murder, destruction and sabotage” that are part of a “dangerous plot against Syria.”

“We call upon the Syrian people to be aware that Syria is being targeted, and affirm that we stand with them in the face of this plot. We reject any sort of extremism represented by terrorist organization.”

It was the nature of that “terrorism” that was being hotly debated, amid conflicting claims about who carried out the bombings.

Within minutes of the Friday morning explosions, state television said initial enquiries held al-Qaida responsible.

Not long afterwards, Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Meqdad said “this is the gift we get from the terrorists and al-Qaida.”

However, the government did not release details on how it came to such a conclusion, and so quickly.

Later in the day, the opposition accused the government itself of carrying out the attacks.

Opposition umbrella group the Syrian National Council said “the Syrian regime, alone, bears all the direct responsibility for the two terrorist explosions.”

It said the government was trying to create the impression “that it faces danger coming from abroad and not a popular revolution demanding freedom and dignity.”

The Muslim Brotherhood, an influential component of the SNC, issued its own statement, in which it also pointed the finger at the regime.

“The regime gave a bloody welcome to the team of Arab observers, on the morning of Holy Friday, to cover up the weekly demonstrations across the Syrian map,” it said.

“We draw attention ... to the fact that Syrian television delayed nearly an hour in broadcasting images of the incident from the time of its announcement, as the theatre director put the finishing touches on the scene, including fake blood.”

It also pointed out the speed at which the government blamed al-Qaida.

Adding to the confusion was what the Brotherhood said was a bogus website fabricated to resemble its own, which claimed on Saturday that the group itself had carried out the attacks and promised more.

Brotherhood spokesman Zuhair Salem said the claim was “completely fabricated under our name on the Internet,” pinning responsibility on the regime.

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