6 years ago

'Huge explosion' in Syria's capital causes fatalities - monitor

An explosion near a military intelligence office in Syria's capital Damascus has left a number of dead and wounded, says war monitor, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

AP

Syrian gather in front of a damaged military intelligence building where two bombs exploded, at Qazaz neighbourhood in Damascus, Syria, May 10, 2012. (File photo)

A "huge explosion" near a military intelligence office in Damascus Sunday left a number of dead and wounded, a war monitor said, after regime TV said early reports suggested a "terrorist act".

"The explosion took place near a security branch in the south of the city. There are some people killed and injured but we could not verify the toll immediately," the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) told AFP.

It was unclear if the blast was caused by a bomb that was planted or a suicide attack, the monitor said, adding that shooting followed the explosion.

Regime's news agency SANA said that a “bomb blast” had caused an explosion “without leaving any victims”.

“There is confirmation of reports that a terrorist has been arrested,” it said.

It said that shooting followed the explosion.

Syria is locked in a civil war that has killed more than 360,000 people and displaced millions since a brutal crackdown on anti-regime protests in 2011 spiralled into full conflict.

SOURCE: AFP