LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/Getty Images

Syrian security forces raise their weapons in the air as Norwegian Major General Robert Mood, head of the UN observers mission in Syria, arrives to inspect the site of twin blasts in Damascus on May 10, 2012.

Gunfire in the streets of Damascus today following a strike at the heart of the Assad regime. At least two key members of the Syrian military are dead after a suicide bombing in a meeting of senior government leaders in Damascus.

President Bashar Assad's brother-in-law was among those killed, along with the country's deputy defense minister. Live video from Damascus shows fighting in the streets, and some are describing a "security vacuum" in parts of the city.

On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that increased violence showed Syria is "rapidly spinning out of control," and it was time to bring "maximum pressure" on Assad to step down and transfer power.

Guest:

Clarissa Ward, CBS News foreign correspondent, currently in Antakya, Turkey, at the border with Syria