Suicide attack in Damascus kills 26, injures dozens

[News_Editor]

Suicide attack in Damascus kills 26, injures dozens

2012-01-07 10:17:02 GMT+7 (ICT)

DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BNO NEWS) -- At least 26 people were said to be killed on late Friday morning when an explosion hit a neighborhood in the Syrian capital of Damascus, state-run media reported. Dozens more were injured.

The blast happened at around 10.55 a.m. local time when an apparent suicide bomber blew himself up near Hassan al-Hakeem Basic Education School in the al-Midan neighborhood of Damascus. The blast took place near a traffic light where crowds usually gather.

According to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), at least 26 people were killed and 63 others were injured. The report said most of the victims were civilians, but SANA quoted officials as saying that law enforcement personnel were also among the casualties.

The country's Interior Ministry said a preliminary investigation showed that approximately 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of explosives were used in the blast. Photos from the scene showed damaged and burnt out vehicles, blown out windows, blood and dead bodies.

Few other details about the blast were immediately released, but the Syrian government has blamed previous attacks on al-Qaeda although observers have rejected those claims. The Syrian government said terrorists were targeting crowded areas to kill as many people as possible.

On December 23, at least 44 people were killed and 166 others were injured when two suicide bombers hit two government buildings in Damascus. One of the bombers targeted a building of the Area Security Branch in Damascus while another drove his vehicle into the General Intelligence Administration building.

Syria has been part of the wider Arab Spring movement which began in early 2011 and has been riddled by violence ever since. Pro-democracy demonstrations have spread across the country since mid-March, resulting in a fierce government crackdown.

The Syrian government has repeatedly claimed that violent acts against protesters have been carried out by 'terrorists dressed as soldiers,' although international observers have rejected these claims. Some opposition groups have also accused Syria of staging 'terrorist attacks' to justify the government crackdown.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-01-07

[koheesti]

Have there been other suicide bomber attacks in Syria before this one? This is the first I remember hearing about.

[maiphedmaiaroi]

I saw the aftermath on youtube.

Obviously it will be pulled very soon as its way to graphic.

Its unbelievble how a sucide jacket can do that much damage.

Very sad things like this happen.

[maiphedmaiaroi]

Have there been other suicide bomber attacks in Syria before this one? This is the first I remember hearing about.

"On December 23, at least 44 people were killed and 166 others were injured when two suicide bombers hit two government buildings in Damascus."

[Steely Dan]

Have there been other suicide bomber attacks in Syria before this one? This is the first I remember hearing about.

I seem to remember there was one just as the Arab league monitors arrived in Damascus, though there is some suggestion this was an inside job by Assad to keep the observers busy whilst his army completed the massacre of rebels in Homs. He need not really have worried seeing as the Arab league group is fronted by a Sudanese chap responsible for the militias carrying our ethnic cleansing in Sudan, so the odd few thousand murdered in Syria should be easy for him to overlook.

[koheesti]

That video is pretty graphic. From the looks of things people - many police judging by the helmets and vests - were killed by shrapnel. I'm not sure what the gov't would gain targeting their own men. The (presumably) bomber's head was just lying in the street surrounded by tiny shreds of clothing. Gruesome stuff.

[Scott]

I don't know much about suicide bombers in Syria, but I do know that the gov't there is very, very good at keeping information from getting out. The current situation is probably the exception.

Some years back, I spent some time in Syria, but it was very tightly controlled. It was during the time of the Sr. I found the people nice and it was a relatively easy and seemingly safe country, but there wasn't much the gov't didn't know about.

[koheesti]

I don't know much about suicide bombers in Syria, but I do know that the gov't there is very, very good at keeping information from getting out. The current situation is probably the exception.

Some years back, I spent some time in Syria, but it was very tightly controlled. It was during the time of the Sr. I found the people nice and it was a relatively easy and seemingly safe country, but there wasn't much the gov't didn't know about.

A little off-topic but one of the hottest women I met in Dubai was Syrian.