Syrian air strike on Turkey border crossing kills 5

A Syrian air strike on a headquarters of a Salafist Islamist rebel brigade at the main crossing point with Turkey killed at least five people and wounded dozens, opposition activists along the border said.
   
The attack targeted buildings belonging to the Ahrar al-Sham, one of the most formidable rebel units fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad, they said. A Turkish aid worker said the strike also hit a warehouse storing material for aid groups working in the area.

This after a powerful bomb rocked Damascus on Tuesday, killing 13 people and wounding 70, Syrian state TV reported, a day after the country's prime minister narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in the heart of the heavily protected capital.         

Damascus residents said they heard a powerful explosion and saw thick, black smoke billowing from behind a group of buildings.               

Syrian TV said the explosion was caused by a "terrorist bombing" in the district of Marjeh, a commercial area in central Damascus.                    

The target of the attack was not immediately clear, although the explosion took place near the Damascus Tower, a 28-floor office building. The former Interior Ministry building is nearby and was damaged in the blast.                  

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 14 people were killed and 65 wounded in Tuesday's blast.      

This as Russia banned its airlines from flying over Syria, the aviation agency said, after a plane with 160 passengers detoured to avoid danger from fighting on the ground.     

Syria's spreading civil war has largely halted airline traffic to and from the country.               

The Rosaviatsiya agency said most Russian airlines had heeded a recommendation issued in February not to cross Syrian territory but some had ignored the risk and continued doing so on flights to and from Egypt, among other destinations.              

On another note, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appealed to Syria again to allow experts into the country without delay or conditions to investigate allegations of chemical weapons use, saying this is a "crucial moment" to get the team on the ground.                      

The U.N. chief told reporters he takes seriously a recent U.S. intelligence report which indicated Syria has twice used chemical weapons and said "a credible and comprehensive inquiry" requires access to all sites where allegations have been made.        

Rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad's regime have increasingly targeted Damascus, the seat of his power. Tuesday's bombing, the second in as many days in the capital, appears to be part of the wider violence wracking Syria with the nation's conflict now in its third year.         


POSITIONS:                   

The German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere warned against putting "red lines" in Syria's crisis amid evidence that the Syrian regime forces used chemical weapons.      

He added that he supports all forms of political pressure, refusing any "automatic role for the military pertaining to Syria's chemical arms".                 

Britain, France, Israel and Qatar also believe chemical weapons have been used in Syria's two-year-old civil war. President Barack Obama has said that use of chemical weapons by President Bashar Assad's regime, or the transfer of those stockpiles to terrorists would cross a "red line" and have "enormous consequences."      

As for Iran, it regarded the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria's civil war as a "red line", however attributing their use to Syrian rebels as opposed to the Damascus government.  

President Barack Obama on Tuesday said there was evidence that chemical weapons were used inside Syria but questions remained about their use.
   
Again calling it a "game changer," Obama told reporters that what was still not known is how the chemical weapons were used, when they were used and who used them.       

The United States and its allies are still trying to figure out details of Syria's suspected use of chemical weapons against its own people, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Monday, as international officials pressed for broader access to suspected attack sites.                 

Speaking to Pentagon reporters, Hagel refused to discuss any military options including whether or not the U.S. would be willing to take unilateral action against the Syrian regime or if the administration would act only in concert with allies.     

U.S. officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry, have said that chemical weapons likely the nerve agent Sarin were used on two occasions.


REUTERS/AP/LBCI