(6 Aug 2012) STORYLINE:
A bomb ripped through the third floor of the state TV building in Damascus on Monday, shattering several offices and
wounding at least three employees, Syrian TV said.
The explosion was the latest in the Syrian capital, which has seen a string of suicide attacks and other bombings in the past few
months as the country's civil war has escalated and the rebels grow bolder in their tactics.
The TV building, which also houses state-run radio, is located at the Umawiyyeen roundabout in central Damascus.
"This is the freedom, this is the democracy these are reforms that they seek. This is what expresses their religion and their lives," said an analyst for the army, Salim Harba, who was at the TV station to give an interview.
After Monday's blast, the TV remained on air despite what was another severe breach of a state institution and a heavily guarded
area in the Syrian capital.
"Our transmission did not stop not for one second. We called it "the screen of the nation" and it will remain so," Maan Saleh, the Director of Syrian TV said.
Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said the bomb blast caused heavy material damage and light injuries among the employees.
He blamed Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Israel for the attack.
Syrian authorities accuse the Gulf countries and Israel of supporting the rebels fighting against President Bashar Assad's troops and fuelling the insurgency in Syria.
Hours after the blast Syrian TV announced that the country's prime minister has been fired less than two months after taking up his post.
Riad Hijab is a former agriculture minister and a loyalist in President Bashar Assad's ruling Baath party.
He was appointed as prime minister on June 23. The TV did not immediately give a reason why Hijab was dismissed from
his post Monday.
In neighbouring Jordan a government official said Hijab had defected to Jordan with his family.
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