Syrian security forces gather in front of a damaged building near the  explosions, in Damascus The Free Syrian Army (FSA) has revealed new details about how the deadly explosion targeting the regime\'s security leadership on Wednesday was carried out. According to sources within the FSA the bomb, which exploded during a meeting at Syria\'s national security headquarters in Damascus, was smuggled in by a double agent who had been working for the Syrian regime over a number of years.
The sources say the explosives were made up of very small ‘bomblets’ – some the size of mobile phone sim cards - and smuggled into the security headquarters in separate parts.  The sources confirmed that C-4 plastic explosives were used.  The explosives which combine highly reactive chemicals with a plastic binder material are considered one of the most potent and dangerous explosives known to exist.  These particular bombs are also thought to have been triggered by a mobile device.
Sources say the unnamed suspect then placed the ‘bomblets’ under the table, positioning them directly in front of each security figure.
The suspect, a university graduate in his 30’s, was employed by the Syrian National Security Council as a civil contractor over a number of years.  It was during this time that he is said to have gained the trust of senior figures, including security head Hisham Ikhtiar, who was wounded in the high-profile bomb attack on Wednesday, but died of his injuries on Friday.
Some security observers believe he is likely to have been recruited by either Syrian groups or Turkish intelligence agencies via a mediator who works with the opposition abroad.
According to sources, the kind of high level explosives used in the attack are only available through government intelligence agencies, hinting at a high level involvement in the plot to kill Syria’s top security brass.
Meanwhile, British daily newspaper The Telegraph revealed that the British navy is preparing contingency plans for a mass evacuation of British citizens from Syria and neighbouring countries, as growing violence has caused tens of thousands to flee major cities.
According to the report, a substantial Navy task force will deploy to the eastern Mediterranean for large scale exercises after the Olympics and will have the capability to help civilians fleeing the growing violence.
The flotilla from the The Response Force Task Group will include the helicopter carrier HMS Illustrious and the amphibious ship HMS Bulwark ferrying 45 Commando, Royal Marines.
The force will carry out amphibious landings in Sardinia, Albania and Turkey then is likely to “loiter” off Cyprus, 100 miles from the Syria mainland, the Telegraph reported.
Navy planners said the fleet was a precautionary measure to evacuate British passport holders from across the Middle East.
“It’s very, very possible if it goes pear-shaped with floods of refugees then we have a responsibility to look after our people out there,” senior Navy commander told the British daily,
A Ministry of Defence source said: “There is no question at this stage of a combat role, our aim is purely to consider contingency plans to evacuate British nationals if there are ‘proxy conflicts’ in the Lebanon and Jordan.
“The worst case scenario would be terrorist attacks in Lebanon and Jordan if the Syrian government seeks to de-stabilise the entire region.”
It is understood that Special Forces and diplomats have been in the region assessing the number of British passports holders who have fled across the border from Syria into the Lebanon and Jordan and drawing up evacuation plans. More than 30,000 people have fled into Lebanon alone in the past two days, according to the United Nations.