Gunmen in Damascus Kill Brother of Parliament Speaker BEIRUT, Lebanon - The brother of Syria's speaker of Parliament was assassinated on Tuesday in a central Damascus neighborhood, the official Syrian news agency reported, as clashes between the government and the rebels convulsed most major cities. Mohammad Osama al-Laham was killed by gunmen who opened fire on his car in the Midan neighborhood of the capital while he was on his way to work, SANA reported, blaming the attack on "terrorists," its uniform description of all anti-government rebels. It said Mr. Laham, the brother of Jihad Laham, the speaker of the People's Assembly, held a doctorate in agriculture and blamed his death on an attempt by the rebels to eliminate people with skills the country needs. The assassination came just one day after the funeral of Mohamed Rafeh, 30, a television star who was abducted and killed, apparently by government opponents, over the weekend. Mr. Rafeh had been outspoken in his support for the fierce government suppression of its armed opponents as a peaceful protest movement descended into civil war. An online statement from a rebel faction accused him of being a government informant. Both government and rebel reports detailed clashes in virtually every major urban area on Tuesday, continuing what had already been described as some of the worst violence in months. The Local Coordinating Committees, a collection of activist organizations across Syria, said the daily toll on Monday reached at least 159, including 72 killed in Idlib, and 47 in Damascus and its suburbs. People in Damascus, the capital, said the fighting was the fiercest they could remember since July, with thousands of people having fled as a Palestinian faction that supports the Assad government skirmished with government opponents in three southern neighborhoods. "It's a real war," said an activist reached in southern Damascus via Skype, who used only one name, Eman, for her safety. The fighting, escalating since the weekend, ignited the quarters of Yarmouk and Tadamon, both heavily Palestinian, as well as Hajjar al-Aswad, a center of resistance to the government. Rounds fired from the military airfield in Mezze slammed into the area, activists said. A Facebook page focused on camp news published a statement from the Popular Front group saying it had thwarted an infiltration by government opponents.