SYRIA: Twin bomb blasts in the Syrian capital Damascus kill at least forty people and wound more than one hundred and seventy

Record ID: 280747

  • Title: SYRIA: Twin bomb blasts in the Syrian capital Damascus kill at least forty people and wound more than one hundred and seventy
  • Date: 11th May 2012
  • Summary: DAMASCUS, SYRIA (MAY 10, 2012) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF DAMAGED BUILDING NEAR BLAST SCENE U.N. MONITOR STANDING BY U.N. VEHICLES CROWD NEAR BLAST SCENE VARIOUS OF DAMAGED CAR WITH SHATTERED WINDSCREEN MAN WITH BANDAGE AND BLOOD ON HIS HEAD RED AND WHITE TAPE CLOSING OFF AREA VARIOUS OF PEOPLE SURROUNDING U.N. MONITORS AND CHANTING SLOGANS IN SUPPORT OF SYRIAN PRESIDENT
  • Embargoed: 26th May 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Syrian Arab Republic
  • Country: Syria
  • Topics: Conflict
  • Reuters ID: LVA3XYOH1SW0WYLKSY52NUJ1UWRF
  • Story Text: Twin bomb blasts in the Syrian capital Damascus killed at least 40 people and wounded more than 170, Syrian state television said on Thursday (May 10).
    One of the rush hour explosions hit a district that houses a well known military intelligence complex involved in President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on a 14-month uprising. State media said earlier the majority of the casualties were civilians.
    Syrian television blamed "terrorists" for the rush-hour blasts on the southern edge of the city.
    Damascus residents said Thursday's explosions happened almost simultaneously in the same area shortly before 8 a.m. (0500 GMT).
    The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least one of the explosions was caused by a car bomb and that the target was intelligence buildings.
    The blasts caused limited damage to the facade of the nearby Palestine Branch Military Intelligence complex, one resident told Reuters. The Palestine Branch is one of the most feared among the more than 20 secret police organisations in the country.
    The head of the U.N. monitoring mission in Syria, Major-General Robert Mood, visited the blast site. The U.N. monitors were surrounded by supporters of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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