(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Syria’s Interior Minister Major General Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar and many others were also injured in the bombing in Rawda district on Wednesday.

Cabinet ministers and senior security officials were meeting inside the building at the time of the explosion.

"The Minister of Defense was martyred by the terrorist bombing that targeted the national security building," state TV reported.

The violence comes as armed groups fighting against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad continue their attacks in the capital for the fourth straight day.

Dawoud Rajiha, 65, was appointed to the post last year.

Syria has been the scene of deadly unrest since mid-March, 2011 and many people, including large numbers of army and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

The West and the Syrian opposition accuse the government of killing protesters. But Damascus blames ''outlaws, saboteurs and armed terrorist groups'' for the unrest, insisting that it is being orchestrated from abroad.

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