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Syria conflict: Dozens killed in bombings in government-held areas | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
At least 40 people have been killed in four bombings in government-held areas of Syria and one in a city dominated by Kurdish forces, state media report. | At least 40 people have been killed in four bombings in government-held areas of Syria and one in a city dominated by Kurdish forces, state media report. |
The attacks took place between 08:00 and 09:00 (05:00-06:00 GMT) around Damascus, Homs, Tartous and Hassakeh. It was not clear if they were linked. | The attacks took place between 08:00 and 09:00 (05:00-06:00 GMT) around Damascus, Homs, Tartous and Hassakeh. It was not clear if they were linked. |
The deadliest incident was outside Tartous, on the Mediterranean coast. | The deadliest incident was outside Tartous, on the Mediterranean coast. |
Tartous, which hosts a Russian naval base, is the heartland of President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite sect. | |
A news agency affiliated to the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) said it was behind the Hassakeh attack, which allegedly targeted Kurdish militiamen. | A news agency affiliated to the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) said it was behind the Hassakeh attack, which allegedly targeted Kurdish militiamen. |
'Crowd targeted' | 'Crowd targeted' |
Syria's official Sana news agency reported that 30 civilians were killed and 45 others injured in the Tartous countryside on Monday morning. | Syria's official Sana news agency reported that 30 civilians were killed and 45 others injured in the Tartous countryside on Monday morning. |
First, a car bomb was detonated on the Arzoneh motorway bridge, a local police source was cited as saying. | |
Then, as a crowd gathered at the scene to help the wounded, a suicide bomber detonated his explosive belt, the source added. | |
Tartous had been relatively unscathed by Syria's five-year civil war until May, when a suicide bomb attack on a bus station by IS militants left dozens dead. | |
In the central city of Homs, four people were killed and 10 injured when a car bomb exploded at the entrance to the Bab Tadmour district, Sana reported. | |
The governor of Homs province said the car bomb targeted a military checkpoint and that the casualties were soldiers. | |
One person was meanwhile killed in a bombing on a road in Saboura, a western suburb of Damascus, a police source told Sana. | |
In Hassakeh, an explosives-packed motorcycle was blown up at the Marsho roundabout, killing five civilians and injuring two others, Sana said. | |
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based group that monitors the conflict in Syria through a network of sources, said three of the dead were Kurdish security personnel, known as the Asayish. | |
The Kurdish Popular Protection Units (YPG) militia took near complete control of the north-eastern city last month after a week of clashes with government troops. | The Kurdish Popular Protection Units (YPG) militia took near complete control of the north-eastern city last month after a week of clashes with government troops. |
The Syrian Observatory put the total death toll for Monday's attacks at 47. | |
The attacks came as US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed a ceasefire deal for Syria at a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China. | |
A senior US official said they had been unable to agree the terms but would direct their top diplomats to resume talks quickly, likely later this week. | |
"If an agreement can be reached, we want to do so urgently, because of the humanitarian situation. However, we must ensure that it is an effective agreement," the official said. | |
The US is particularly concerned by the deteriorating conditions in and around the divided second city of Aleppo, where rebel-held districts are once again under siege after government forces advanced on Sunday. |