Damascus (Syria): Four men shouting Islamic slogans tried to blow up the U S embassy in Damascus on Tuesday but their car bomb failed to explode and Syrian security guards killed three of them in a shootout. No Americans were hurt.
The United States, long at odds with Syria, voiced gratitude to Damascus for its swift response and suggested the countries could turn a page in their troubled relationship.
"Syrian officials came to the aid of the Americans. The US government is grateful for the assistance the Syrians provided in going after the attackers," White House spokesman Tony Snow said.
"We are hoping they will become an ally and make the choice of fighting against terrorists," he added.
The United States lists Syria as a sponsor of terrorism.
Syrian state media said a Syrian guard was killed and two others were among 13 wounded in the attack, and that the attackers had tried but failed to detonate a car bomb.
A US State Department official said there was prolonged gunfire during the attack, which lasted for 30 minutes.
"I saw two men in plain clothes and armed with grenades and automatic weapons," said Ayman Abdel-Nour, a Syrian political commentator who was in the area.
"They ran towards the compound shouting religious slogans while firing their automatic rifles," he added.
Television footage of the scene showed a van packed with gas canisters and detonators taped to them, as well as bloodstains on the pavement and several damaged vehicles, including a white, bullet-riddled car that a truck was preparing to haul away.
The attack, one day after the fifth anniversary of al Qaeda's September 11 attacks on the United States, was the first such shooting and bombing assault on an embassy in Damascus.
Interior Minister Bassam Abdel Majid said it was a "terrorist operation".
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said it was too early to know who was behind the attack, but the State Department official said the capture of one gunman provided "some investigative possibilities".
Rice also praised Syrian actions and expressed condolences over the guard's death.
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"I do think that the Syrians reacted to this attack in a way that helped to secure our people, and we very much appreciate that," she told a news conference in Canada.
Syrian-US relations have been tense for many years, mainly over Syria's role in Lebanon, the Middle East conflict and Iraq, as well as its support for militant groups in the region.
A US embassy statement said the Syrian government had pledged "full security cooperation" in meetings between US diplomats and Syrian officials following the attack.
The embassy confirmed there were no American casualties.
SANA said three assailants had been killed and a fourth wounded. Eleven bystanders were wounded, including an Iraqi couple and a senior Chinese diplomat.
China's official Xinhua news agency said the diplomat was slightly wounded by shrapnel while he was standing on a garage within the Chinese embassy compound, near the US embassy.
The Rawda district where the attack occurred is one of the most heavily guarded parts of the Syrian capital. It houses security installations and the homes of government officials.
Hours later, the area remained sealed, with sharpshooters posted on rooftops and top security officials at the scene.
Security officials said the assailants' arsenal included rocket-propelled grenades. It was not known if they had fired them during the mid-morning firefight. Children at a school next to the embassy were rushed to safety after the violence.
Syria's secular Baathist government crushed an armed revolt led by the Muslim Brotherhood movement in the early 1980s.
Syrian forces have clashed with Islamist militants several times in recent months, often during raids to arrest them.
In June, four gunmen and a guard were killed when Syrian security forces said they had foiled an attack by Islamist militants near the premises of state-run television in Damascus.
The United States recalled its ambassador from Syria in February 2005, expressing outrage over the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister, Rafik al-Hariri, in Beirut, which Washington blames on Syria. Damascus denies involvement.
The United States increased its criticism of Syria during Israel's 34-day war in July and August with Lebanon's Hizbollah guerrillas, who are supported by Syria and Iran.
Syria, accused by Washington of helping insurgents in Iraq, backs Hizbollah and the Palestinian Hamas movement, but blames rising Islamist militancy on US policy in the Middle East.
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