A fourth militant who allegedly participated in the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Damascus has died from injuries, a Syrian official said Wednesday.
“He died in hospital last night. We could not interrogate him before that,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.
Three of the other suspected Islamic militants were killed in the brazen, midmorning assault on the embassy Tuesday. Syrian guards exchanged gunfire outside the compound's walls with the attackers, who shouted "God is great" and tried to storm in with automatic weapons and hand grenades.
A Syrian guard was killed in the attack. No Americans were hurt.
The four alleged attackers were all Syrians, the official SANA news agency said Wednesday.
The rapid response by Syrian guards won rare praise from the United States, which accuses President Bashar Assad's regime of supporting terrorism in its backing of Hezbollah guerrillas and Palestinian militants.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility the attack but suspicion immediately fell on a little-known al-Qaida offshoot called Jund al-Sham, Arabic for Soldiers of Syria.
Syria's ambassador to the U.S., Imad Moustapha, told The Associated Press it was too early to say but "it's logically possible" Jund al-Sham was responsible.
