DAMASCUS (SANA) – Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army and the Armed Forces, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense Gen. Dawood Rajiha, Deputy Minister of Defense Gen. Asef Shawkat and Assisstant Vice-President Gen. Hassan Turkmani were martyred on Wednesday in a terrorist explosion targeting the National Security headquarters in Damascus.
The terrorist blast happened while a meeting of a number of ministers and senior military and security officials was taking place, causing injuries among the attenendees, some of them critical.
An official source confirmed in a statement to SANA that Interior Minister Lt. Gen. Mohammad al-Shaar and and Lt. Gen. Hisham are in a stable health condition.
Martyr Rajiha was born in 1947 in Damascus, and he graduated from the Military Academy in 1968, specialized in artillery. He took several military training courses, including Leadership and Staff course and Higher Staff course. He was promoted to Lieutenant General in 1998, ad he was made General in 2005.
He occupied various military posts including battalion and brigade commander and director of a number of directorates and departments at the Armed Forces, and he was appointed Deputy Chief of General Staff in 2004 and later Chief of General Staff in 2009.
He was awarded several military medals during the course of his career, and he was married and left behind four children.
Martyr General Asef Shawkat
Martyr General Asef Shawkat was born in al-Madhala, Tartous in 1950. He joined the Military Academy to graduate as an Infantry officer.
He took part in Tishreen Liberation War in 1973, continued his studies in Law, then his higher studies in history. He gained his doctorate in History in 1976.
Martyr Shawkat occupied several posts. In 2005, he was appointed as Commander of the Military Intelligence, then he was promoted to General in 2009.
Later, he was appointed as Deputy Defense Minister.
Martyr General Hassan Turkmani:
General Turkmani was born in Aleppo, 1935. He joined the Military Academy in 1954. He was graduated from the Artillery School in 1956.
Turknami participated in Tishreen Liberation War as Commander of a division.
He was promoted to Lieutenant General in 1978, then to General in 1988.
He was appointed as Deputy- Chief of Staff in 1982, then as Chief of Staff in 2002.
Defense Minister since 2004 till 2009.
He was appointed as Assistant Vice President on June, 3rd 2009.
F.Allafi/H.Said/ Mazen
