Daraa (Syria), May 10: A roadside bomb struck a Syrian military truck in Daraa on Wednesday, wounding six soldiers just seconds after a convoy carrying the head of the UN observer mission, along with monitors and journalists, passed by.
An Associated Press reporter travelling in the UN convoy said the blast cracked the military truck's windows and caused a plume of black smoke.
The UN convoy was more than 100 metres (330 feet) in front of the truck and was not hit.
One of the Syrian soldiers on the truck, who did not give his name, described the incident to a reporter from Syrian Al-Ikhbariya News.
“We were accompanying the UN convoy and after crossing the Syrian Army barrier there was an explosion and a first lieutenant and five soldiers were injured. I was injured as well, so the total is six.”
The head of the UN observer mission, Major General Robert Mood, who was travelling in the convoy, told reporters the observers' work would continue as usual.
He said he didn't know whether the blast was meant to target the observers or the military.
It remains unclear who was behind the bombing.
But Syria's rebel leader, Colonel Riad al-Assad, threatened to resume attacks because the government has not honoured a cease-fire, the London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Colonel al-Assad's comments, published in Wednesday's edition of the paper, could deal yet another blow to a peace plan brokered by special envoy Kofi Annan, which calls for a truce monitored by observers to pave the way for negotiations for a resolution.
