Syrian pro-government TV station attacked

Syrian President Bashar aAssad told his newly appointed cabinet that a real "state of war" exists in the country and directed them to direct all its efforts toward vanquishing the uprising against him. ITV's Bill Neely reports.

By msnbc.com news services

BEIRUT - Gunmen stormed the headquarters of a pro-government Syrian TV news channel on Wednesday morning, planted explosives and killed three employees, state media said.

"The terrorists planted explosive devices in the headquarters of al-Ikhbariya following their ransacking of the satellite channel studios, including the newsroom which was entirely destroyed," the state media said.

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"Three colleagues were killed as a result of the brutal terrorist attack," it added, without giving details.

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An employee at the station said that the gunmen stormed two of the station's buildings, detained some of the guards then blew up parts of it with explosives, The Associated Press reported.? ?

The employee, who did not give his name for fear of repercussions, said the gunmen blindfolded him and then drove him away about 200 yards where he heard the explosion.

"I was terrified," the man said by telephone.

The Syrian press is tightly regulated by the Ministry of Information. Although Ikhbariya is privately owned, opponents of President Bashar Assad say it is a government mouthpiece.

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During the 16-month-old pro-democracy revolt against the Assad family's four-decade rule, Ikhbariya has been pushing to counter what it says is a campaign of misinformation by western and Arab satellite channels on the uprising, which it describes as a foreign-backed terrorist conspiracy.

Ikhbariya resumed broadcasting shortly after the attack.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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