Assad troops die in rebel bomb attack
An encampment of Syrian government forces has been targeted by two suicide bomb attacks today, with reports that dozens have been killed or injured.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said two car bomb attacks had taken place in the early hours of Saturday in the southern city of Deraa. State-run news agency SANA said the attacks had caused multiple casualties and heavy material damage, but did not give any further details.
Following the car bombings there were reports of a third explosion. This was then followed by clashes between rebels and regime forces, the observatory said.
Mohammad Abu Houran, an activist in Deraa, said: “I heard two very loud explosions and a third smaller one followed by bursts of gunfire.” He said the first two were likely car bombs and the third a mortar shell or rocket propelled grenade.
Read Lindsey Hilsum's blog on the struggle to bring aid to Syria.
Deraa was the birthplace of the uprising against Syrian president Bashar Assad in March 2011 and has been a focal point for violence from government and rebel fighters alike. Earlier this month Syrian fighter jets were reported to have fired missiles into Deraa.
The area targeted in Saturday’s attack is understood to be home to a branch of the Syrian government’s military intelligence as well as an officers’ club. Dozens of regime forces are said to be based there. Activists said that around 30 tanks used to shell Deraa are located in a nearby stadium.
The Deraa explosions come the day after the UN warned that around four million people in Syria will need huminatrian aid by early next year. Overnight on Thursday an estimated 11,000 people fled the country to neighbouring Turkey, Syria and Lebanon to escape the violence.
