very close to where the president himself lives. the streets there are lined with plainclothes undercover government agents, not to mention the numerous army checkpoints that are there for the free syrian army, this rebel fighting force to have smuggled explosives into the building, into the room where this meeting took place, that most certainly would have meant that someone on the inside was helping them. someone within assad s inner circle or someone who works very closely with the inner circle and had access to this location most certainly was helping the rebels out to carry out this type of an extraordinary attack. with this sort of an attack at the heart of the capital city, as you say, what message does that send to the syrian government and indeed the syrian elite? do they feel less safe? do they feel perhaps a sense of momentum shifting in this conflict? reporter: well, it s pretty safe to assume that the president and those who are still around him are most cert
the pressure is building on syrian president bashar al assad who is no doubt watching his back this evening after an attack struck the heart of his regime. a regime that s been in power for over 40 years and has launched a brutal crackdown on rebels over the last 16 months, killing more than 16,000 people, according to one opposition group. whether today s bloodshed is the result of a rebel attack or an inside job, one thing is clear assad s security perimeter has been breached. state tv reports those assassinated at a high-level meeting in damascus include the defense minister, the deputy defense minister who s also al assad s brother-in-law, and his security adviser. rebels danced in the street following the explosion. the opposition forces have come a long way since the uprising began. that has deputy defense secretary leon panetta worried the situation is quickly deteriorating. the violence there has only gotten worse and the loss of lives has only increased. which te