Bomb attacks
December 23, 2011
More than 40 people were reported killed and many other injured in two explosions Friday at Syrian security sites in the capital, Damascus.
The death toll was given by both military officials and the Syrian Foreign Ministry, with the number of injured put at about 150.
Witnesses, speaking to news outlets via telephone, reported hearing two large explosions in Damascus on Thursday morning. State television broadcast footage that showed piles of darkened rubble and bloodied bodies being wrapped up in blankets. It said the blasts were caused by suicide car bombers and accused the al Qaeda terror network of being responsible.
Authorities blame al Qaeda
The Syrian government has also blamed al Qaeda for the attacks, which come a day after the arrival in Damascus of an advance team for an Arab League observer mission.
"On the first day after the arrival of the Arab observers, this is the gift we get from the terrorists and al Qaeda, but we are going to do all we can to facilitate the Arab League mission," Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Meqdad told journalists at one bomb site.
However, members of the opposition have voiced suspicions that the bombings were organized by the regime itself.
"The Syrian regime, alone, bears all the direct responsibility for the two terrorist explosions," said a statement from the Syrian National Council.
"It wanted to send a warning message to observers for them not to approach security centers."
Government-imposed restrictions on foreign journalists reporting from the country make it difficult to verify details.
Arab League observers
The Arab League observer mission is charged with laying the groundwork for a team of 200 observers that the league plans to send in an effort to end months of bloodshed in the country that have killed an estimated 5,000 people.
They are to monitor Syria's implementation of the peace plan, which calls for a halt to all violence, the release of detainees and the withdrawal of the military from all towns. It also calls on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad to enter a dialogue with the opposition.
Syria's security forces launched a violent crackdown on the opposition last spring, after pro-democracy activists began holding demonstrations to call for political reforms.
Author: Chuck Penfold, Richard Connor (Reuters, AP)
Editor: Andreas Illmer