Syria unrest: Damascus hit by two deadly blasts

Two explosions have hit the Syrian capital, Damascus, killing at least 29 and wounding 103 in what Syrian state TV say were "terrorist bombings".

State TV footage of the blasts showed massive destruction in the al-Qazzaz suburb to the south of Damascus.

Damascus has been the target of several bombs in past months amid continuing anti-government unrest.

The last deadly blast was at the end of April, when some 10 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack near a mosque.

The head of the UN observer mission in Syria, Maj Gen Robert Mood, has visited the site of the explosions.

A first explosion occurred shortly before 08:00 (05:00 GMT) as people headed into work.

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At the scene

 

Lyse Doucet BBC News, Damascus

At the site of the two bombings, the motorway is littered with the twisted metal of about a dozen wrecked vehicles. The area is strewn with debris.
The blasts tore off the facade of a military security building. Emergency teams on scene are searching for body parts and forensic evidence.
The area has been cordoned off, but large crowds have gathered.

• In pictures: Damascus blasts

The first blast was apparently to attract people to the scene and was quickly followed by a second, much bigger explosion, a local journalist who spoke to eyewitnesses told the BBC.

Television footage showed dozens of mangled and burnt vehicles, some containing bodies.

A large crater could be seen in the road.

The district targeted is said to house a military intelligence complex, including the headquarters, 10 floors high, of the counter-terrorism operation for the military security in Syria, involved in President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on the ongoing pro-democracy protests.

Next to it was another military security intelligence building which was also destroyed in the attack.

Homs shelling

Meanwhile, the Syrian army has bombarded the city of Homs overnight.

Opposition activists described it as some of the heaviest shelling in Homs for weeks.

Eleven United Nations monitors are now stationed there to try to implement a ceasefire.

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Recent blasts in Damascus

• 5 May: Two blasts cause damage, but no-one is hurt.
• 27 April: An explosion in the centre of Damascus near a mosque kills at least 10 people and wounds 20 others.
• 2 April: A bomb explodes near a police station and hotel in the central Marja district of Damascus, injuring at least four people.
• 17 March: At least 27 people are killed and nearly 100 wounded in two explosions said to be targeting buildings housing the criminal police and aviation intelligence.

But a BBC correspondent in Homs says they have an impossible task, with both sides breaking the truce.

The observers are in the country as part of the joint UN-Arab League peace plan and began deploying last month.

There are now about 70 monitors in Syria as a whole, but their presence has had no effect in quelling the violence.

Violence was reported in several parts of the country on Wednesday, including the northern province of Idlib and the city of Hama.

The UN says at least 9,000 people have died since pro-democracy protests began in March 2011. In February, Syria's government put the death toll at 3,838 - 2,493 civilians and 1,345 security forces personnel.