Suicide attack against Syria intel building in Palmyra: NGO

BEIRUT - Agence France-Presse

Syrian army tanks are seen stationed along a street in the northern province of Aleppo. AFP PHOTO

A suicide bomber on Wednesday attacked a military intelligence headquarters in the south-central Syria city of Palmyra, killing and wounding an unknown number of people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"A powerful explosion rocked Palmyra this morning and according to initial reports it was a suicide attack targeting the building housing the military intelligence and state security" offices, said the Observatory, which gathers reports from activists, medics and lawyers across Syria.

The watchdog could not immediately give a more detailed breakdown of the toll of dead and wounded.
 It said rebel fighters attacked the building soon after the blast, while the army deployed security forces in the city renowned for its Roman ruins and which has been designated as a world heritage site by UNESCO.

Fighting then erupted between rebels and troops in a section of Palmyra, which is located in Homs province.

Suicide bombings have increased in Syria and are usually claimed by jihadists, the most prominent of them being the Al-Nusra Front, a group designated as a "terrorist organisation" by Washington.

The UN says more than 60,000 people have been killed in violence across Syria since the outbreak of a revolt in March 2011 that morphed into an insurgency after the army launched a brutal crackdown on dissent.