This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-34125666

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Syria crisis: Latakia blast rocks president's stronghold Syria crisis: Latakia blast rocks Assad stronghold
(about 2 hours later)
At least seven people have been killed in a car bomb explosion in the Syrian port city of Latakia, state TV says. At least 10 people have been killed in a bomb attack in the Syrian city of Latakia, a key stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad, state media report.
It says more than 40 people were injured in the attack on the city's main Hamam Square. Twenty-five others were injured when a van filled with explosives blew up in front of a school on the outskirts of the city, the Sana news agency said.
Some reports say as many as 10 people died. State television aired footage of charred cars with blown-out windows.
Latakia is a stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad's supporters, and has largely escaped the violence of the civil war that has devastated most of Syria and left 250,000 people dead. Latakia has largely escaped the conflict that has devastated most of Syria and left 250,000 people dead.
The death toll in Wednesday's attack may rise as the bombing took place in a busy area, eyewitnesses told a BBC correspondent. But a rebel alliance that includes al-Qaeda's local affiliate, al-Nusra Front, has been advancing on the city and within its surrounding province after driving government forces out of much of neighbouring Idlib province earlier this year.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. 'Rare' bombing
On Tuesday, Syrian security said they intercepted two cars loaded with explosives in two places in Latakia province, including in Qardaha - the hometown of the Assad family. Sana reported that the bomb was detonated at 12:00 (09:00) on Wednesday, outside Imad Ali school in Hamam square, on the northern edges of Latakia.
Last month, six people were killed in Latakia by rebel shellfire. It also said that on Tuesday evening security forces had intercepted two cars loaded with explosives which "terrorists were trying to sneak into Latakia".
In March, more than 50 government soldiers and rebels were killed in a battle in a village in the north-western province. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the UK-based monitoring group, said Wednesday's blast was "the biggest car bomb attack in Latakia since the war began" in 2011.
"This is rare for Latakia city, which is usually hit by rockets," its director, Rami Abdul Rahman, told the AFP news agency.
Last month, six people were killed in the city by shellfire and rebels forces reached the edge of the coastal mountains to the east where Mr Assad's ancestral village of Qardaha is located.
The rebel advance in the north-eastern heartland of his Alawite sect is the latest in a series of setbacks for the president.
In July, he acknowledged the army faced a manpower shortage and had withdrawn from some areas in order to defend those he considered most significant.