BEIRUT (AP) — A car bomb tore through the parking lot of a military compound in an eastern Syrian city on Saturday, killing nine people in the latest in a series of blasts in recent months targeting security installations, the country’s state media reported.

The blast in Deir al-Zour took place as a top U.N. team was in the capital Damascus to discuss with Syrian officials the peace plan brokered by special envoy Kofi Annan last month. Annan’s six-point plan paved the way for the deployment of about 260 U.N. observers, and also calls for a cease-fire and dialogue to end the conflict.

Footage broadcast on state TV of Friday’s bombing showed damaged buildings, smoldering cars, and trucks flipped upside down. Debris filled a street that was stained with blood. State television said the vehicle was rigged with 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) of explosives and that the suicide blast left a crater five meters (15 feet) wide and more than 2 meters (6 feet) deep, and heavily damaged buildings up to 100 meters (yards) away.

The state-run news agency SANA said the blast hit the parking lot of a military residential compound, while an opposition group, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported that the bomb went off close to the city branches of the Military Intelligence Directorate and Air Force Intelligence. State TV said U.N. observers based in the city visited the site of the blast.

Attacks such as the one in Deir al-Zour, which once served as a transit hub for militants heading to fight U.S. forces in neighboring Iraq, have raised fears that al-Qaida-linked jihadis have made serious inroads into Syria‘s rebel movement.

No one claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack. A group calling itself the Al-Nusra Front has claimed some previous attacks through statements posted on militant websites. Little is known about the group, although Western intelligence officials say it could be a front for a branch of al-Qaida militants from Iraq operating in Syria.

The last major bombing targeted an intelligence building in Damascus on May 10. It struck during morning rush hour and the high death toll — some 55 people — made it the deadliest such attack since the uprising against President Bashar Assad’s regime began in March of last year.

Some of the tactics used in Damascus — a small blast drawing attention prior to a larger one — were reminiscent of al-Qaida attacks during Iraq’s insurgency.

On Thursday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he believes that “alarmingly and surprisingly,” al-Qaida must have been behind the May 10 attack in the Syrian capital.

“The recent terrorist attacks in Damascus suggest that these attacks were carefully orchestrated,” he said. “Having seen the scale and sophistication of these terrorist attacks, one might think that this terrorist attack was done by a certain group with organization and clear intent.”

Saturday’s blast came a day after the state-run news agency SANA reported that authorities foiled an attempt to blow up a car rigged with explosives in Deir al-Zour city and detained those involved.

Deir el-Zour province, of which the city is the provincial capital, was a major crossing point for jihadis traveling to Iraq to fight after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. During the war, the U.S. and Iraqi governments repeatedly accused Syria of allowing foreign fighters from across the Arab world to pass through, but Damascus said it could not stop smuggling networks from crossing the long desert border.

In 2008, a cross-border raid by U.S. special forces killed the al-Qaida-linked head of a smuggling network and seven other people in the province.

Since the cease-fire, which is part of Annan’s plan, went into effect on April 12, there have been daily reports of clashes between Syrian troops and rebels. Still, the level of violence has dropped since the U.N. observers began arriving last month.

A senior U.N. delegation that included Babacar Gaye, military adviser to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous was expected to meet with with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem on Saturday.

The chief of the U.N. observers in Syria, Maj. Gen. Robert Mood, and Annan deputy Jean-Marie Guehenno are also to take part in the meeting.

Ladsous told reporters Saturday that he met with some observers and “reminded them of the importance of the mission which is basically to save lives by confirming the reduction in the level of overall violence.” He added that a drop in bloodshed would help create conditions “that could be conducive to some political processes being started by the initiative of the joint special envoy.”

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Military authorities recovered about $1.8 million in stolen property as part of an ongoing investigation that so far involves almost 70 civilians and active-duty Marines and sailors.

Commanders from Camp Lejeune and the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force are supporting the investigation, a base spokesman said in an email Tuesday. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is leading the investigation, which began more than a year and a half ago.

“This is some damn fine police work and two years of undercover — $1.8 million is pretty sizable,” NCIS spokesman Ed Buice said by phone from Quantico, Va. “That said, this is not the first time such crimes have occurred with military members selling government-issued combat gear.”

The 66 NCIS investigations involve 47 active-duty Marines and sailors, along with 21 civilians who sold stolen property, said base spokesman Nat Fahy. About half the cases have been settled in court, Buice said.

“This is guys stealing stuff and selling it at garage sales and out of the back of their cars” and other places, Buice said.

NCIS agents also found property stolen from the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Army and other federal agencies, Fahy said. That information was forwarded to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and North Carolina’s State Bureau of Investigation, among numerous other federal and local agencies.

Buice and Fahy did not say whether weapons were among the items stolen.

The ongoing investigation was first reported by The Daily News of Jacksonville.

A sergeant with Marine Corps Special Operations Command, which is located at Camp Lejeune, was convicted in March of stealing and reselling property.

Sgt. Daniel Adam Reich was a member of 3rd Marine Special Operations Command when he was convicted and sentenced to 40 months in prison and a dishonorable discharge, said Maj. Jeff Landis, a spokesman for the command.

Landis wouldn’t say what type of property Reich stole but did say that weapons were not involved. All of the property was recovered, he said.

The thefts came to light after NCIS received tips, Buice said. Crime analysts did research that suggested more property was being stolen, he said, leading to the investigation.

___

Jelinek reported from Washington, D.C.

___

Martha Waggoner can be reached at http://twitter.com/mjwaggonernc

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt‘s military ruler says the country’s upcoming presidential election will be a “model” of a free and fair vote and will reflect the will of the people.

More than 50 million Egyptian voters are to choose from among 13 candidates for the country’s first president since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising in February 2011. The vote starts May 23-24.

Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi‘s remarks were clearly meant to reassure Egyptians that the ruling military council will not push any preferred candidate of its own. Tantawi’s spoke during a military exercise on Wednesday, according to state media.

It’s the first time in Egypt’s modern history that Islamist candidates face off former regime officials, including a former foreign minister and a former air force pilot.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Eight months after the military allowed gays to serve openly — and on the same day that President Barack Obama declared his support for same-sex marriage — the House Armed Services Committee backed measures limiting the rights of gays and lesbians.

The panel stepped into the gays in the military issue as it considered a sweeping, $642 billion defense bill for next year that buys new weapons, ships and aircraft, increases military pay by 1.7 percent and sets policies for the Pentagon. The committee worked through the day Wednesday and into the early morning Thursday on the legislation that adds billions of dollars to the president’s budget request.

The committee fleshed out a blueprint for next year that calls for a base defense budget of $554 billion, including nuclear weapons spending, plus $88 billion for the war in Afghanistan and counterterrorism efforts. That compares with the administration’s proposal of $551 billion, plus $88 billion.

Conservative Republicans still angry with the end to the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military pressed two measures.

“The president has repealed ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ and is using the military as props to promote his gay agenda,” said Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., who is running for Senate.

The committee, on a vote of 37-24, backed an amendment that barred same-sex marriages or “marriage-like” ceremonies on military installations. The panel also endorsed an Akin amendment that said the services should accommodate the rights of conscience of members of the services and chaplains who are morally or religiously opposed to expressions of human sexuality.

In an odd exchange, Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., questioned what would happen if a service member literally interpreted the Old Testament’s Leviticus, which considers homosexuality an abomination. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., disputed her contention that was part of the Bible, saying it was the Old Testament.

“Members of this committee are looking to turn back the clock and find new ways to discriminate against gay and lesbian service members,” said Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state, the top Democrat on the committee. “These men and women serve with honor and distinction and this amendment sends a message that their service is not valued.”

Earlier in the day, the committee backed construction of a missile defense site on the East Coast, rejecting Pentagon arguments that the facility is unnecessary and Democratic complaints that the nearly $5 billion project amounts to wasteful spending in a time of tight budgets.

In rancorous, lengthy debate, Republicans insisted that the site is necessary in the event that Iran or North Korea develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of attacking the East Coast. Democrats countered that throwing billions of dollars at a missile defense system plagued by failures made no sense, especially when the threat from the two nations was highly uncertain and many in Washington are demanding fiscal discipline.

This “would be spending up to $5 billion in the next three years on a missile defense system that doesn’t work,” said Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., who offered an amendment to eliminate the project from the GOP-backed bill.

The chief proponent of constructing the site, Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, said, “We need to proceed with missile defense whether this president wants to or not.”

On a largely party-line vote, the panel rejected Garamendi’s effort, 33-28.

Since the mid-1980s, the Pentagon has spent nearly $150 billion on missile defense programs and envisions another $44 billion over the next five years. But it is not looking to construct a facility on the East Coast.

Gen. Charles Jacoby, the head of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, told Congress earlier this year, “Today’s threats do not require an East Coast missile field, and we do not have plans to do so.”

The progress of Iranian and North Korean programs remains unclear. The United States and its allies accuse Iran of using its nuclear program to develop atomic weapons. Iran insists it is producing nuclear energy. North Korea suffered a failed rocket launch last month when its Unha-3 rocket broke apart, raising questions about the immediate threat to the United States from a North Korean long-range missile.

Lt. Gen. Patrick J. O’Reilly, the head of the U.S. missile defense program, told Congress recently that North Korea lacks the testing for a capable system and has made little progress in its spaceflight program.

Nevertheless, the committee envisions construction of the site by the end of 2015, with the Pentagon deciding on a possible location. The bill includes $100 million to study three potential sites.

In a pre-emptive move, the committee backed an amendment by Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., prohibiting any spending on implementing an international agreement on activities in space unless the pact has been ratified by the Senate or authorized by law.

The idea of another round of domestic base closings lost by a 44-18 vote. Lawmakers have challenged the savings from previous closings. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta had proposed two rounds, but there’s no enthusiasm in Congress for that during an election year.

The committee chairman, Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., said the legislation represents a “modest” increase over the administration’s proposal and “actively rebuilds the military within the constrained resources available to us.”

Smith said he was pleased that the bill includes new conditions on providing aid to Pakistan. “It is imperative that Pakistan support our counterterrorism efforts,” he said.

Election-year maneuvering over the size of the Pentagon budget is unfolding against a backdrop of worries by Republicans and Democrats that the nation’s defenses will suffer if lawmakers cannot stave off more than $500 billion in mandatory military spending cuts scheduled to begin taking effect next year.

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt‘s Islamist-dominated parliament on Sunday approved a ban on the country’s next president from sending civilians for trial by military tribunals, but preserving that power for the military itself.

The measure would curb the powers enjoyed by the deposed President Hosni Mubarak, who used the military tribunals to refer opponents, especially Islamists.

The law retains the current wide-ranging powers for the military to send civilians to military tribunals. Activists have been campaigning against that practice by the ruling generals who took over from Mubarak in February last year.

More than 10,000 civilians have been referred to such tribunals since then, some for criticizing the military.

On Saturday alone, more than 300 civilians were sent for military prosecution following violent demonstrations near the Defense Ministry in Cairo. They face accusations of attacking troops and disrupting public order.

Late Sunday, the military renewed an overnight curfew in the area of the ministry for a third day.

Human Rights Watch researcher Heba Morayef said the new measure fails to protect civilians and civilian justice system from the military.

“It is an attempt to limit the next president’s power, but does nothing about the relations between civilians and military,” she said. “The newly elected civilian authority is not responding to one of the main demands on the streets to protect the rights of civilians.”

Another lawyer, Ragia Omran, who has been campaigning for ending the military trials, said the measure was a “disappointment,” because there were consultations with lawmakers to limit the military’s jurisdiction.

“The (lawmakers) don’t care about the public opinion. It is only good for them,” she said.

The measure allows those tried under Mubarak to appeal the verdicts before a military tribunal. This includes some of the senior Muslim Brotherhood leaders.

Brotherhood lawyer Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maksoud said the law intends to “curb the powers of the next president” to send civilians to military courts for a wide variety of offenses.

The military itself still has that authority, he said, “but now the door is no longer open for the next president” to do so.

Egyptian activists and political groups have grown critical of the military management of the transition period, and have sought to curb the powers enjoyed by the military since its 1952 military coup. Since then it was been the source of all of Egypt’s leaders.

Later this month, Egyptians vote for the first time to elect a president without a military background. But many believe the military is still trying to preserve its economic interests and political clout by backing a presidential candidate or introducing legislation that protects its status.

Morayef questioned the Brotherhood’s concession on military trials despite public pressure.

“The timing is interesting, when the Brotherhood is saying it is in the middle of a battle with the military, (but) in no way are they pushing back against military authority,” she said.

The original law, in place since 1966, allows the military to try any crimes committed against military personnel, on military grounds or “against the security, safety or interests of the Armed Forces.”

The tribunals also have jurisdiction over any site operated by the military. Egypt’s military has extensive economic interests and employs civilians, making them liable to military jurisdiction.

Rights lawyer Ahmed Ragheb said the new measure also preserves the right of the military to try its retired personnel for financial and other crimes, a measure adopted after the uprising that toppled Mubarak.