Blast near UN, army sites hits heart of Syria
A bomb exploded in central Damascus on Wednesday near several military buildings and a hotel housing UN observers, wounding three people and sending a pillar of black smoke into the sky above the Syrian capital. No UN staff were hurt in the blast, which occurred exactly four weeks after a bomb killed four of President Bashar al-Assad's top security officials, including his brother-in-law.
Syrian deputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad told reporters at the scene that the bombing proved "the criminal and barbaric nature of those who carry out these attacks — and their backers in Syria and abroad". Firefighters were dousing a fuel tanker set ablaze when the bomb detonated at 8.30am in a car park behind the hotel.
Ash and dust covered white UN vehicles. UN emergency relief coordinator Valerie Amos, on a mission to seek more access for aid deliveries, was meeting EU officials in Damascus when the bomb exploded. Although the explosion occurred close to the hotel, its target was not clear. The area is home to a Syrian army officers' club and a building belonging to the ruling Baath Party. It is also not far from the army command.
Groups calling themselves The Descendants of the Prophet Brigade and the al-Habib al-Mustafa Brigade said on a Facebook page they were jointly responsible for the bombing, which they said had killed 50 soldiers. Competing rebel groups often claim attacks and it is usually unclear who was behind them. The violence in Syria, where opposition sources say has killed 18,000 people have been killed till now, has divided regional and world powers.
Their disputes have nullified diplomatic peace efforts and effectively paralysed the UN Security Council on Syria. Muslim heads of state were expected to suspend Syria from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation at a summit in Mecca on Wednesday, over objections of Iran.