Syria's defense minister and two other senior defense officials were killed Wednesday in a suicide bombing carried out by antigovernment rebels.

Syria’s state-run TV said the bomb went off in the national security council headquarters in Damascus, killing Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, Deputy Defense Minister Assef Shawkat and a former defense minister Hassan Turkmani.

Rajiha is the highest-ranking official to be killed since bloody confrontation between government forces and antigovernment rebels began in March of last year. Shawkat was the brother-in-law of President Bashar al-Assad.

Antigovernment rebels claimed they were behind the blast but did not give related details.