Damascus: Last month's attack on the US embassy in Damascus was planned in Saudi Arabia and the four Syrians who carried it out had no links to Al Qaida, a government investigation said yesterday.
Three of the four assailants, 31-year-old Abdul Raouf Saleh, Bilal Saleh, 25, and Samir Saleh, also 25, were close relatives who followed the teachings of a preacher in Saudi Arabia where they had worked, the Interior Ministry report said.
They started preparing for the operation in 2004, according to the report.
"An investigation into the attack has been concluded. The group planned to blow an embassy door, storm the compound and kill whoever was inside. It had no links with extremist organisations outside Syria," the report said.
"They attended lessons by a Saudi man of religion. Their extremism deepened due to the political situation shaking the region and US bias toward Israel."
The report said the group 'had planned to broadcast a video statement after the operation in the name of the Abu Musab Zarqawi Brigade, although they had no link to Al Qaida'.
It said they were inspired by Al Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaida in Iraq who was killed in a US air strike in June.
Syrian forces killed the four men who attacked the embassy on September 12 in a gun battle that lasted about 30 minutes.
A Syrian guard and a Syrian bystander were also killed. Twelve people were wounded. No Americans were hurt.
The report, published by the government's news agency, said Syrian security forces later made several arrests in connection with the attack.
They included two members of the Saleh family who bought weapons and explosives for the attack in Lebanon and paid Leb-anese smugglers to transport them across the border, it said.
