Barak Says Syria Blast 'a Severe Blow' to Axis with Iran, Hizbullah

Syria's alliance with Iran and Hizbullah took "a severe blow" after a deadly rebel attack on Damascus killed three top security chiefs, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Thursday.

"The blow is a severe one," said Barak on a tour of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, a day after a blast tore through Syria's national security headquarters, killing the defense minister and two other top officials close to President Bashar Assad.

"It's also a severe blow to the radical axis, to the Iranians and Hizbullah, who are the sole supporters of the Assad family," he said in remarks communicated by his spokesman.

The minister said it was possible to watch the battle playing out less than a kilometer (half a mile) away in the Syrian village of Jebata al-Khashab.

"We can see the actual fighting, the mortars, hear the bullets between the Syrian army to rebels or the opposition," he said.

"This shows how the disintegration (of the Assad regime) is not abstract, it is real, it's approaching, and what happened yesterday in Damascus will expedite the downfall of the Assad family," he said.

Barak noted growing audacity of rebels and said the Assad family's hold on Syria was "falling apart in front of our eyes" warning that no-one knew what would remain afterwards.

"The longer this lasts, the greater the mess in Syria the day after Assad falls."

The Israeli minister said there were different elements at work in Syria, among them al-Qaida and global jihadists, adding that Israel was concerned that the chaos could see chemical weapons falling into the wrong hands.

"We fear the disorder could bring about the collapse of sensitive systems, there is quite a bit of chemical warfare material in Syria which is spread out across the country, and there are a lot of weapons in the hands of citizens," he said, without elaborating.

"We are monitoring two issues: the possibility that during the downfall of the Assad family, Hizbullah will try to transport advanced weapons systems or heavy surface-to-surface missiles from Syria to Lebanon -- or chemical weapons," he said.

He also said Israel was on alert for the arrival of a wave of refugees on the Golan Height plateau.

Israel was also concerned that if Syria descended into all-out civil war, it would see the Golan Heights "turning into a no-man's land which could be used by terror operatives."

Wednesday was one of the bloodiest days in Syria since the outbreak of the revolt 16 months ago, with 214 people killed.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that more than 17,000 people have been killed in violence since the uprising against Assad's regime began in March 2011.