Syrian blast
January 6, 2012
The suicide bomber hit at a set of traffic lights near a primary school in the al-Midan neighborhood of Damascus on Friday. At least 26 people were killed and 63 were injured in the second major attack on the city in as many weeks.
In response to the attacks, Syria's interior ministry said in a statement that it would "strike with an iron fist all those who undermine the security of the nation."
The ministry claimed that more than 10 kilos (22 pounds) of explosives were used in what they described as "a new terrorist escalation."
State television broadcast images of the bombsite which appeared to include a damaged police bus among the body parts, bloodstains and broken glass. The footage also showed angry residents at the scene of the blast, denouncing the attack as the work of terrorists.
US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters on Friday that the United States "categorically condemned" the attack, adding that the solution to the crisis is for President Bashar al-Assad to "step aside and for a national dialogue to begin."
Meanwhile United Nations leader Ban Ki-moon said he remained "gravely concerned at the deteriorating situation in Syria."
"I say again that all violence is unacceptable and must stop immediately," he added.
Fact-finders on site
The independent Syria Politic website reported that Interior Ministry officials and members of the Arab League observer mission were present at the scene on Friday.
The Arab League mission is investigating the Syrian regime's 10-month crackdown on anti-government protesters, with the UN estimating that more than 5,000 people have been killed in the prolonged unrest.
Damascus suffered a similar suicide attack on December 23, when 44 people were killed and 166 injured in twin blasts that were said to target security buildings in the capital.
Arab League observers were rushed to that scene as well, with authorities blaming the blast on al-Qaida militants who might have crossed the border from neighboring Lebanon.
Opposition groups, however, insinuated that the December blast might have been staged by Bashar al-Assad's regime to try to convince the observers that Syria was under terrorist attack.
The leader of the Arab League observers, Sudanese General Mustafa Mohamed al-Dabi, is set to travel to Cairo ahead of a Sunday meeting where he will present his mission's first report.
The observers are tasked with overseeing an end to the 10 months of unrest in Syria, and are about two weeks into their stay.
The observers were sent with an Arab League peace plan that would call on the government to withdraw soldiers from residential areas, open talks with opposition factions in Syria and release all political prisoners.
Some local and international critics have questioned whether al-Dabi's team will be able to push their plan through.
Author: Charlotte Chelsom-Pill, Mark Hallam (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)
Editor: Andrew Bowen