"4.06pm: Syria: Some observations on today's attack from our Beirut-based Guardian colleague, Martin Chulov:
In 2009, four ministries in Baghdad were blown up with massive fertiliser bombs, each around three tonnes.At the time, the Iraqis blamed the attacks on Damascus (and for good reason, as they had an informer wearing a wire in the planning meetings in Zabadani one month earlier). An intelligence chief there knew massive attacks were imminent, but not the targets. The attacks led to a major cooling-off between both states, with Iraq presenting evidence to Damascus and calling back its ambassador.Nouri al-Maliki begrudgingly patched things up one year later under Qassem Suleimani's instructions when he got Bashar and Muqtadr al-Sadr on board to form a government. Since then, Iraq has been very much in the Iranian orbit and has bought the narrative about a salafist takeover in Syria.So, the Syrians would have learned (also in Lebanon) that blowing government buildings up does work. Of course, blowing up someone else's ministries up is easier than attacking your own, but at the end of the day it's a fight for the regime's survival.If regime officials were responsible they would have moved sensitive stuff away beforehand. There is no proof that the regime was responsible, and it may well be that an insurgent group was responsible. However, it's prudent to look for clues among recent regional events." (thanks Karim)
