Twin suicide blasts killed 55, hurt 372 in Damascus: ministry

DAMASCUS - Agence France-Presse

AP Photo

Two powerful explosions that struck Damascus today were carried out by suicide bombers and killed at least 55 people while wounding another 372, Syria's interior ministry said.

 he bombers used more than 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) of explosives in their vehicles, the ministry said, cited by state television.

Previously, state media said the blasts killed 40 people and injured nearly 200, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the toll was 50 dead.


Herewith a list of the deadliest bomb attacks to hit Syria since the start of a popular revolt in March last year.

In almost all cases the government of President Bashar al-Assad has blamed the attacks on opposition "terrorists", while the opposition has blamed them on the regime.

 - December 23, 2011: In the first major bomb attacks to hit the country since the start of the uprising, suicide bombers blow up two vehicles at security service premises in Damascus. Forty-four people die and 166 are injured, with both civilians and security personnel among the casualties.

 - January 6, 2012: A suicide bomber blows himself up in the crowded Midan neighbourhood of the capital, killing 26 people and injuring 46.

 - February 10: State television says car bombs aimed at security premises have killed at least 28 people in Syria's second city of Aleppo.

 - March 17: Two huge bomb blasts kill at least 27 people, most of them civilians, and hurt 140 in Damascus. State television says the attacks were aimed at police headquarters in the Duwar al-Jamarek area and air force intelligence offices in Al-Qasaa.

 - April 27: A suicide bomber strikes near a mosque in the historic Midan neighbourhood of Damascus, killing at least 11 people and injuring 28 as worshippers are leaving after Friday prayers.

 - May 9: A roadside bomb explodes as a convoy escorting United Nations observers is driving into the city of Daraa, a focal point of the revolt against the Assad regime. Six members of the troop escort are wounded.

 - Thursday May 10: At least 40 people die when two powerful blasts hit a freeway in Damascus during the morning rush hour.