Some analysts have wondered whether some members of the Syrian government might have worked out a detente of sorts with the more serious jihadi forces, such as those operating in Iraq.
Still others have accused the government of colluding in staged attacks in a bid to draw sympathy from the West.
After each attack, Syrian officials have been quick to remind reporters that Damascus, too, is a target for terrorists.
"The Syrian government is a secular one, and the Baath Party itself is secular, so it's considered by Al Qaeda and others as a pro-Western regime," said a Syrian official who spoke by phone on condition of anonymity. "So Syria is attacked by those groups, and meanwhile the USA is accusing Syria of belonging to the same groups. Both sides are greatly mistaken."
Syrian officials also criticized U.S. policy in the region.
"It is regrettable that U.S. policies in the Middle East have fueled extremism, terrorism and anti-U.S. sentiment," the Syrian Embassy in Washington said in a statement. "The U.S. should ... start looking at the root causes of terrorism and broker a comprehensive peace in the Middle East."
But questions linger: Why have militants never struck Syria with the force and skill brought to bear against Arab neighbors such as Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia? Is Syria given a pass by armed groups because of Assad's reputation as an anti-American figure?
"The speculation has been that the Assad regime has put people up to this," said Joshua Landis, a Syria expert at the University of Oklahoma who spent last year living in Damascus. "Are they in league? Have they cut a deal?"
One U.S. counter-terrorism official said it was too soon to tell who was responsible for Tuesday's attack, but said he was not surprised that Syria blamed Jund al Sham.
"Other violent incidents have occurred in Syria and the government has pointed to the group, but there is not a lot known about it," said the official, whose agency does not permit him to discuss terrorism matters on the record.
The official and others, however, said it was also possible that the perpetrators might have been local men with political grievances.
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megan.stack@latimes.com
Times staff writers Josh Meyer and Paul Richter in Washington and Caesar Ahmed in Cairo contributed to this report.
