Four top members of Bashar Assad’s inner circle were killed in Damascus Wednesday, July 18:  His brother-in-law Security Chief Assif Shawqat, Defense minister Gen. Dawoud Raijiha, Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ibrahim Shaar and Vice-Presidential aide Gen. Hasan Turkmani.  debkafile: Their deaths were caused by a hidden bomb in the cabinet conference room – not a suicide bomber as previously reported. Top-level consultations are under way in Washington, Jerusalem and other Mid East capitals to second-guess Assad’s expected reaction
 

A suicide bomber blew up a truck packed with 9,000 kilograms of explosives at the entrance to a NATO Combat Outpost Sayed Abad base in central Afghanistan's Wardak province Saturday, Sept. 10. The attack took place as America marked the 10th anniversary of 9/11and New York and Washington DC were on terror alert for a vehicle-borne strike.

The base targeted serves US Special Forces in Afghanistan. The truck bomb injured at least 89 US servicemen.

The Russian investigators of the explosion which killed 35 people and injured 180 at Moscow's main airport Monday, Jan. 24, are certain it was not carried out by a female but by a single male suicide bomber, 30-40 years old, heavily-built and most likely of European appearance.They are looking for accomplices who may have witnessed the attack and left. The Russian government has launched a criminal probe into the security lapse that made the attack possible.