killing 55 people and shaving the facade off a military intelligence
building in the deadliest explosions since the country's uprising
began 14 months ago, the Interior Ministry said.
Residents told an Associated Press reporter that 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 claim of responsibility for Thursday's blasts. But an
al-Qaida-inspired group has claimed responsibility for several past
explosions, raising fears that terrorist groups are entering the fray
and exploiting the chaos.
In addition to the 55 dead, the ministry also said there were 15 bags
of human remains, meaning the death toll was likely to rise.
More than 370 people also were wounded in the attack, according to
theministry, which is in charge of the country's internal security. It
said the explosives weighed more than 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds).
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.
Thursday's blast was similar to attacks waged by al-Qaida in Iraq,
which would bolster past allegations by top U.S. intelligence
officials that the terror network from the neighboring country was the
likely culprit behind previous bombings in Syria. That raises the
possibility that 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 posted 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.
Al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri called for Assad's ouster in February.
"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 EU 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 Assad family dynasty in Syria in four decades. But opposition
leadersand activists routinely blame the regime 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 gruesome pictures of the
mangled, charred and bloody corpses and human remains — something that
it has done after previous bombings, as well. The decision to show
such graphic images could be seen as a tactic by the regime to shock
Syrians into abandoning any support for the opposition, which it
blames for the country's chaos.
Maj. Gen. Robert Mood, the Norwegian head of the U.N.'s cease-fire
monitors in the country, toured the site Thursday and said the Syrian
people do 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, the birthplace of the uprising.
The relentless violence in the country has brought a cease-fire plan
brokered by special envoy Kofi Annan to the brink of collapse. The U.N
said weeks ago that more than 9,000 people had been killed. Hundreds
more have died since as the conflict has become increasingly
militarized, with protesters taking up arms or joining forces with
army defectors to fight a brutal crackdown by regime forces.
On Thursday, Annan appealed for calm and an end to bloodshed.
"The Syrian people have already suffered too much," Annan said in a statement.
Thursday's explosions began about 7:50 a.m. as the area was crowded
with people going to work or doing morning errands. Witnesses said
thefirst explosion attracted curious passers-by, then seconds later, a
far larger explosion went off, causing massive damage.
Syrian TV showed shaken young girls in tears who said they were in the
nearby Qazaz First Elementary School when the blast occurred. An hour
after the blast, the school's gates were closed and no one was inside.
The explosions left two craters at the gate of the military compound,
one of them 3 meters (10 feet) deep and 6 meters (20 feet) wide.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi posted a message on his
Facebook page urging people to go to hospitals to donate blood.
"The house shook like it was an earthquake," housewife Maha Hijazi
said as she stood outside her house across the street from the
targeted compound, which is headquarters for a military intelligence
departmentknown as the Palestine Branch.
The latest major explosion in the capital occurred on April 27 when a
suicide bomber detonated an explosives belt near members of the
security forces, killing at least nine people and wounding 26.
The previous deadliest attack in Damascus occurred on Dec. 23, when
two car bombers blew themselves up outside the heavily guarded
compounds of Syria's intelligence agencies, killing at least 44
people.
On March, 17, two suicide car bombers struck in near-simultaneous
attacks on heavily guarded intelligence and security buildings in
Damascus, killing at least 27 people. On Jan. 6, an explosion at a
Damascus intersection killed 26, including many policemen.
International diplomacy has failed to stop the bloodshed, and the U.N.
has ruled out military intervention of the type that helped bring down
Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, in part out of fear that it could exacerbate
the violence.
Annan brokered a peace plan last month, but the initiative has been
troubled from the start, with government troops shelling opposition
areas and rebels attacking military convoys and checkpoints after the
cease-fire was supposed to begin on April 12.
A team of 70 U.N. military observers now in Syria should grow to more
than 100 in the coming days. A full team of 300 is expected by the end
ofthe month to oversee a cease-fire intended to allow for talks on a
political solution to the conflict.
Posted on: 2012-05-10 08:30
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