At least 9 die as car bomb blasts rock Syrian city
Source: Agencies |
May 1, 2012, Tuesday
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TWO suicide bombers blew up cars rigged with explosives near a military compound and a hotel in a city in northwestern Syria yesterday, killing at least nine people and tearing large craters in the ground.
The blasts were the latest setback for troubled United Nations efforts to end Syria's 13-month-old crisis. A team of UN observers is on the ground to salvage a cease-fire that began on April 12 but has been widely ignored by both sides.
Yesterday's bombs went off in the city of Idlib, an opposition stronghold that government troops recaptured in a military offensive earlier this year.
The state-run news agency SANA said security forces and civilians were among those killed, and that nearly 100 people were wounded. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist network, put the death toll at more than 20.
Syria's pro-government al-Ekhbariya TV aired footage of the aftermath from the blasts, showing torn flesh, smashed cars, twisted debris and blood stains on the pavement. The force of the explosions tore the facade of one multistory building, shattered windows in the area and sent debris flying for hundreds of meters. Pro-government websites said five buildings were damaged.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks. State media blamed "armed terrorists," a term it uses for rebels trying to topple the government.
The bombers detonated their explosives near a military compound and the city's Carlton Hotel, SANA said. A local activist, who gave his name as Ibrahim, said the two sites are several hundred meters apart.
Two members of the UN observer team toured the site of the bombings, SANA said. Ibrahim said the observers had been staying at the Carlton, and a pro-government website said the hotel sustained some damage.
The blasts were the latest setback for troubled United Nations efforts to end Syria's 13-month-old crisis. A team of UN observers is on the ground to salvage a cease-fire that began on April 12 but has been widely ignored by both sides.
Yesterday's bombs went off in the city of Idlib, an opposition stronghold that government troops recaptured in a military offensive earlier this year.
The state-run news agency SANA said security forces and civilians were among those killed, and that nearly 100 people were wounded. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist network, put the death toll at more than 20.
Syria's pro-government al-Ekhbariya TV aired footage of the aftermath from the blasts, showing torn flesh, smashed cars, twisted debris and blood stains on the pavement. The force of the explosions tore the facade of one multistory building, shattered windows in the area and sent debris flying for hundreds of meters. Pro-government websites said five buildings were damaged.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks. State media blamed "armed terrorists," a term it uses for rebels trying to topple the government.
The bombers detonated their explosives near a military compound and the city's Carlton Hotel, SANA said. A local activist, who gave his name as Ibrahim, said the two sites are several hundred meters apart.
Two members of the UN observer team toured the site of the bombings, SANA said. Ibrahim said the observers had been staying at the Carlton, and a pro-government website said the hotel sustained some damage.
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