Syrian opposition 'probably winning'

Syrian security chief dies from bomb wounds as fighting rages in Damascus

By Liz Sly and Babak Dehghanpisheh, WashPost, Friday, July 20, 5:32 AM

ANTAKYA, Turkey — Heavy street fighting spread across Damascus for a sixth day Friday, opposition groups said, as the military shelled residential areas and deployed helicopters to combat rebel forces.

With thousands fleeing the violence in the capital, Syrian state television reported that Gen. Hisham Ikhtiyar, the country’s national security chief, died of wounds sustained Wednesday, when a bomb planted by rebels detonated in a meeting of high-level security officials.

Ikhtiyar was the fourth member of President Bashar al-Assad’s inner circle killed by the explosion, which shattered the already slim chance of a negotiated peace deal and brought the civil revolt that has raged for 16 months into the heart of Assad’s government.

In Qaboun, a neighborhood that has seen some of the most intense fighting in recent days, shabiha militiamen reportedly carried out executions, according to anti-government groups, who posted a gruesome video of two men who had been shot in the head and back with their hands tied behind their back

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