Car bombs kill at least 22 in northern Syria
Source: Agencies |
January 17, 2013, Thursday
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SUICIDE bombers driving vehicles packed with explosives blew themselves up near security targets in northern Syria yesterday, killing at least 22 people.
The near simultaneous attacks in the city of Idlib brought the carnage of Syria's civil war to a second major urban center in the country's north in as many days, following the massive blasts a day earlier that killed 82 people at a university in the commercial hub of Aleppo.
The state-run SANA news agency said two suicide bombers hit a pair of roundabouts in the city, killing 22 people and wounding 30. It said security forces foiled two other would-be suicide bombers in the surrounding countryside who were allegedly planning to target security forces and civilians.
There was no immediate responsibility claim for Wednesday's bombings, but Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaida affiliated group, has claimed responsibility for suicide blasts and other attacks on Syrian government targets in the past.
The bombings in Idlib follow the massive blasts Tuesday that rocked Aleppo University, setting cars alight and blowing the walls off dormitory rooms. It remains unclear what caused the explosions, which hit the campus as students took exams.
Syria's UN Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari described the attact as "a cowardly terrorist act."
University blasts kill 82
"This act killed 82 students and wounded 162 other students," he told the UN Security Council during a debate on counterterrorism. "A cowardly terrorist act targeted the students of Aleppo University."
Syria's Ministry of Higher Education suspended classes and exams at all Syrian universities yesterday, "in mourning for the souls of the heroic martyrs who were assassinated by the treacherous terrorist hand," SANA reported.
The opposition and the government have blamed each other for the university blasts, which marked a major escalation in the struggle for control of Aleppo - Syria's largest city and once the country's main commercial hub.
Activists said forces loyal to President Bashar Assad launched two airstrikes on the area at the time of the blasts, while Syrian state media said a terrorist group hit it with two rockets. The scale of destruction appeared inconsistent with the rockets the rebels are known to possess.
Aleppo has been the focus of a violent struggle for control since rebel forces, mostly from rural areas north of the city, pushed in and began clashing with government troops last summer.
Syria's crisis began with political protests in March 2011 but quickly descended into a full-blown civil war.
The near simultaneous attacks in the city of Idlib brought the carnage of Syria's civil war to a second major urban center in the country's north in as many days, following the massive blasts a day earlier that killed 82 people at a university in the commercial hub of Aleppo.
The state-run SANA news agency said two suicide bombers hit a pair of roundabouts in the city, killing 22 people and wounding 30. It said security forces foiled two other would-be suicide bombers in the surrounding countryside who were allegedly planning to target security forces and civilians.
There was no immediate responsibility claim for Wednesday's bombings, but Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaida affiliated group, has claimed responsibility for suicide blasts and other attacks on Syrian government targets in the past.
The bombings in Idlib follow the massive blasts Tuesday that rocked Aleppo University, setting cars alight and blowing the walls off dormitory rooms. It remains unclear what caused the explosions, which hit the campus as students took exams.
Syria's UN Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari described the attact as "a cowardly terrorist act."
University blasts kill 82
"This act killed 82 students and wounded 162 other students," he told the UN Security Council during a debate on counterterrorism. "A cowardly terrorist act targeted the students of Aleppo University."
Syria's Ministry of Higher Education suspended classes and exams at all Syrian universities yesterday, "in mourning for the souls of the heroic martyrs who were assassinated by the treacherous terrorist hand," SANA reported.
The opposition and the government have blamed each other for the university blasts, which marked a major escalation in the struggle for control of Aleppo - Syria's largest city and once the country's main commercial hub.
Activists said forces loyal to President Bashar Assad launched two airstrikes on the area at the time of the blasts, while Syrian state media said a terrorist group hit it with two rockets. The scale of destruction appeared inconsistent with the rockets the rebels are known to possess.
Aleppo has been the focus of a violent struggle for control since rebel forces, mostly from rural areas north of the city, pushed in and began clashing with government troops last summer.
Syria's crisis began with political protests in March 2011 but quickly descended into a full-blown civil war.
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