Damascus, 10 May: Two strong explosions ripped through the Syrian capital on Thursday, killing or wounding dozens of people and leaving scenes of carnage in the streets in an assault against a centre of government power.
The blasts, which ripped the facade off a military intelligence building, happened at about 7:50 a.m. (0450 GMT) when employees usually arrive at work.
Heavily damaged cars and pickup trucks stood smouldering in the area.
The outer wall of the headquarters collapsed, although the structure inside appeared intact.
The Syrian government blamed “terrorists” and said dozens were killed or wounded, most of them civilians.
The owner of one of the houses destroyed by the blasts said that people rushed to the site of the first explosion and then fell victims of a second bomb.
Members of the United Nations (UN) Mission to Syria visited the site shortly after the blast.
The head of the observer mission, Major General Robert Mood, strongly condemned the violence.
Mood and his team of observers were surrounded by a crowd of pro-Assad civilians and security officers chanting slogans in favour of the regime as they inspected the area.
A team of 70 UN military observers now in Syria should grow to more than 100 in the coming days.
A full team of 300 is expected by the end of the month to oversee a cease-fire intended to allow for talks on a political solution to the conflict that has so far claimed the lives of more than 9-thousand people, according to the UN.
Central Damascus is tightly under the control of forces loyal to President Bashar Assad but has been struck by several bomb attacks, often targeting security installations or convoys.
