Twin suicide blasts kill at least 14 in central Damascus

DAMASCUS

Syrian civilians and security personnel inspect the damage in central Damascus following two explosions that killed at least 14 people. They caused widespread damage in the capital’s central Marjeh neighborhood. AFP photo

Twin suicide bombers targeted a Damascus police station killing at least 14 people, as the Syrian army launched multiple attacks on rebel positions in the northern province of Aleppo.

The blasts wounded more than 30 people, state media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog said. They caused widespread damage in the capital’s central Marjeh neighborhood, with state television broadcasting images of blood and broken glass on the pavement near the scene.

Meanwhile, in Aleppo province, the army launched multiple attacks on rebel positions, including insurgent-held areas of the key Minnigh military airbase, the Observatory said. “Parts of Minnigh military airbase were shelled by regime forces... Rebels are in control of large swathes of the airbase,” the Observatory said.

Not a broad campaign: Military source

A military source told Agence France-Presse heavy clashes were raging at the base for a third day, but denied that any part of the airport was under rebel control.

He said the fighting was not part of a broader campaign that the regime has pledged to launch to re-take Aleppo city, large parts of which are in rebel hands, and other parts of the province.

But other areas of Aleppo were under fire, two days after pro-regime media said an army campaign in the province would began within “hours or days.” The regime has pledged to focus its attention on Aleppo after winning a strategic victory by retaking the town of Qusayr, in central Homs province. Backed by fighters from Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah militia, the army seized the town near the Lebanese border last week.