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Syria crisis: Damascus hit by 'double bombing' Syria crisis: Damascus hit by double 'suicide bombing'
(about 1 hour later)
A double bombing has rocked the centre of the Syrian capital, Damascus, killing 14 people, Syrian state TV says. Two suicide bombers have blown themselves up in the centre of the Syrian capital, Damascus, killing 14 people, Syrian media say.
Many others are reported to have been injured in the blasts in Marjeh Square. At least 30 other people were injured in the blasts, in Marjeh Square.
In April, at least 13 people were killed in a blast, reported to have been caused by a car bomb, in the same square. The explosions happened near a police building in the busy commercial district.
The latest attacks come as regime forces prepare an assault to recapture the city of Aleppo from rebels. The attack comes as regime forces prepare an assault to recapture the northern city of Aleppo after having retaken Quseir from the rebels.
Images on Syria's al-Ikhbariya TV showed a scene of widespread damage, with shop fronts blown out and debris littering the street.Images on Syria's al-Ikhbariya TV showed a scene of widespread damage, with shop fronts blown out and debris littering the street.
Blood stains marked the pavement, while people milled around among broken glass and wreckage.Blood stains marked the pavement, while people milled around among broken glass and wreckage.
There are conflicting reports as to what caused the attack - al-Ikhbariya said the blasts were carried out by suicide bombers, while the state news agency Sana said bombs were placed in bags. The BBC's Jim Muir in nearby Lebanon says that although rebel forces seemed poised to capture the city centre of Damascus a few months ago, that imminent threat has receded in recent months.
Central Damascus has been hit several times by bombings in recent months, as government forces fight to repel rebels from the south and north-east of the city. Regime forces launched counterattacks aimed at pushing the rebels back from the nearby suburbs, especially on the eastern and southern flanks of the capital.
Residents say the constant sound of heavy bombardment which they heard at that time has much receded, although hostilities continue in outlying areas and there are occasion bomb explosions or mortar attacks inside the city perimeter.
Sights on Aleppo
Meanwhile Syrian government forces are reported to be preparing for a major offensive on rebel-held parts of Syria's largest city, Aleppo.
Opposition activists in Aleppo told the BBC that military reinforcements - including fighters from Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia Islamist group - had already been sent to parts of the city.
On Sunday, they retook the last remaining rebel-held villages in the strategically important area, which lies between the Lebanese border and the central city of Homs.
Much of northern Syria has been controlled by rebel groups since last year, and the front lines inside Aleppo have been largely static for months.
But the fall of Qusair last Wednesday has been seized on by the military leadership in Damascus as a decisive victory.
In view of the Syrian regime's advance, Washington could decide this week to start arming the rebels, US officials say.
A State Department spokeswoman said on Monday that the US would "continue to look for ways to help the opposition and increase aid... The president has talked about how boots on the ground is not an option - so all options short of that".