Jabhat al-Nusra Claims Credit for Twin Bombings in Damascus

On March 20, 2012, the nascent Syrian jihadi faction “al-Jabhat al-Nusra” formally claimed responsibility for the March 17th twin bombings in Damascus and confirmed the targets were a police headquarters and an office of Syria’s Air Force intelligence service. According to the message, the strikes were “in response to the regime’s continued campaign raiding the residential neighborhoods” in Syrian cities. The statement called on President Bashar Assad’s regime to “stop your massacres against the Sunni people” and promised future assaults that would be “worse and more bitter.” The statement also sought to reassure the Christian population that it “was not targeted in the strike” and that any damage to Christians was “due to fallout from the raid.”