55 die in Syria car bomb blasts
Source: Agencies |
May 11, 2012, Friday
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Print Edition
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Two suicide car bombs ripped through the Syrian capital yesterday, killing 55 people and damaging a military intelligence building in the deadliest explosions since the country's uprising began 14 months ago, the Interior Ministry said.
Residents in Damascus said the blasts happened in quick succession during morning rush hour, with an initial small explosion followed by a larger bomb that appeared aimed at onlookers and rescue crews arriving at the scene. Paramedics wearing rubber gloves collected human remains from the pavement as heavily damaged cars and pickup trucks smoldered.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
In addition to the 55 dead, the ministry said there were 15 bags of human remains, meaning the death toll was likely to rise. More than 370 people were wounded in the attack, the ministry said.
Central Damascus is under the tight control of forces loyal to President Bashar Assad but has been struck by several bomb attacks, often targeting security installations or convoys, since the revolt against him began in March 2011.
But the previous attacks happened on a weekend when many people stay home from work, making it less likely for civilians to be killed.
Yesterday's blasts were similar to attacks waged by al-Qaida in Iraq, which would bolster claims by US intelligence officials that the terror network from the neighboring country was the likely culprit behind previous bombings in Syria. That raises the possibility its fighters are infiltrating across the border to take advantage of the political turmoil.
A shadowy group called the Al-Nusra Front has claimed responsibility for some of the attacks in statements on militant websites. Little is known about the group, though Western intelligence officials say it could be a front for al-Qaida's Iraq branch.
"We strongly condemn the twin bomb attacks this morning in Damascus, which seem to have targeted the maximum amount of casualties and damage and which we see as an act of pure terrorism, from what we see initially," said Michael Mann, spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
The Syrian government blames the bombings on the terrorists it says are behind the uprising, which has been the most potent challenge to the government in Syria in four decades. But opposition leaders and activists routinely blame the government for orchestrating the attacks, saying they help it demonize the opposition and maintain support among those who fear greater instability.
Syria's state-run news agency, SANA, posted pictures of the mangled, charred and bloody corpses and human remains.
Major General Robert Mood, the Norwegian head of the United Nations cease-fire monitors in the country, toured the site and said the Syrian people did not deserve this "terrible violence."
"It is not going to solve any problems," he said, when asked what his message was to those who are carrying out such attacks. "It is only going to create more suffering for women and children."
The attack occurred a day after a roadside bomb hit a Syrian military truck shortly after Mood rode by in a convoy traveling to the southern city of Daraa, birthplace of the uprising.
The relentless violence has brought a cease-fire plan brokered by Kofi Annan to the brink of collapse. The UN said weeks ago that more than 9,000 people had been killed. Hundreds more have died since as the conflict had become increasingly militarized, with protesters taking up arms or joining forces with army defectors to fight a brutal crackdown by government forces.
Residents in Damascus said the blasts happened in quick succession during morning rush hour, with an initial small explosion followed by a larger bomb that appeared aimed at onlookers and rescue crews arriving at the scene. Paramedics wearing rubber gloves collected human remains from the pavement as heavily damaged cars and pickup trucks smoldered.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
In addition to the 55 dead, the ministry said there were 15 bags of human remains, meaning the death toll was likely to rise. More than 370 people were wounded in the attack, the ministry said.
Central Damascus is under the tight control of forces loyal to President Bashar Assad but has been struck by several bomb attacks, often targeting security installations or convoys, since the revolt against him began in March 2011.
But the previous attacks happened on a weekend when many people stay home from work, making it less likely for civilians to be killed.
Yesterday's blasts were similar to attacks waged by al-Qaida in Iraq, which would bolster claims by US intelligence officials that the terror network from the neighboring country was the likely culprit behind previous bombings in Syria. That raises the possibility its fighters are infiltrating across the border to take advantage of the political turmoil.
A shadowy group called the Al-Nusra Front has claimed responsibility for some of the attacks in statements on militant websites. Little is known about the group, though Western intelligence officials say it could be a front for al-Qaida's Iraq branch.
"We strongly condemn the twin bomb attacks this morning in Damascus, which seem to have targeted the maximum amount of casualties and damage and which we see as an act of pure terrorism, from what we see initially," said Michael Mann, spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
The Syrian government blames the bombings on the terrorists it says are behind the uprising, which has been the most potent challenge to the government in Syria in four decades. But opposition leaders and activists routinely blame the government for orchestrating the attacks, saying they help it demonize the opposition and maintain support among those who fear greater instability.
Syria's state-run news agency, SANA, posted pictures of the mangled, charred and bloody corpses and human remains.
Major General Robert Mood, the Norwegian head of the United Nations cease-fire monitors in the country, toured the site and said the Syrian people did not deserve this "terrible violence."
"It is not going to solve any problems," he said, when asked what his message was to those who are carrying out such attacks. "It is only going to create more suffering for women and children."
The attack occurred a day after a roadside bomb hit a Syrian military truck shortly after Mood rode by in a convoy traveling to the southern city of Daraa, birthplace of the uprising.
The relentless violence has brought a cease-fire plan brokered by Kofi Annan to the brink of collapse. The UN said weeks ago that more than 9,000 people had been killed. Hundreds more have died since as the conflict had become increasingly militarized, with protesters taking up arms or joining forces with army defectors to fight a brutal crackdown by government forces.
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