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Suicide Bombings Target Security Sites in Damascus, Dozens Dead
December 23, 2011
Syria's government says two suicide attacks on security sites in the capital, Damascus, have killed and injured scores of civilians and soldiers.
The authorities say at least 40 people were killed and 150 were wounded in the attacks, which were carried out in an upscale neighborhood, targeting strategic government and military buildings.
Mekdad told journalists that "terrorists" were responsible for the attacks.
The unprecedented blasts on December 23 came a day after an advance team of Arab League observers arrived in the country to monitor Syria's promise to end its crackdown on protesters demanding the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.
Mekdad and other government officials took the observers to the scene of the explosions, citing them as evidence of their long-standing claims that the recent unrest in Syria is not due to a popular uprising, but the work of terrorists.
Peaceful protests began in Syria in March, and were seen as part of the Arab Spring protests that swept the Middle East and North Africa.
But amid a fierce government crackdown on dissent, the situation has steadily evolved into an armed conflict pitting the Syrian armed forces against opposition military units whose ranks are bolstered by defectors.
First Suicide Bombs Since Uprising Began
The blasts on December 23 were the first suicide bombings in Syria since the uprising began.
State television reported that civilians and soldiers were killed when suicide bombers detonated explosives-packed vehicles outside the General Intelligence Agency and a branch of military intelligence. The reports blamed "Al-Qaeda terrorists" for the attacks.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is based in London, said witnesses reported the blasts and that heavy gunfire was heard after the explosions.
The attacks are considered to be unprecedented because they struck close to the heart of Assad's regime.
U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner, in a statement on the bombings, said "There is no justification for terrorism of any kind and we condemn these acts wherever they occur."
The United Nations estimates that more than 5,000 people have been killed in Syria since March.
compiled from agency reports
Copyright (c) 2011. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
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