25 dead, 175 wounded in Syria’s Aleppo blast

At least 25 people were killed and another 175 wounded in Friday’s twin bombings that targeted security and law-enforcement forces’ bases in Syria’s northern Aleppo city, according to the health ministry.

Xinhua’s correspondent in Damascus reported initial information showed that at least 19 government troops were among the dead, including 11 security agents died in the first explosion at a military security compound and eight law-enforcement members in the second attack against a barrack.

The local Sham FM cited some western media as saying the Free Syrian Army (FSA), under which the allegedly army defectors grouped, claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Meanwhile, Syria’s state TV aired footages of the blast site, showing some remains of bodies on the streets, some belonging to children who were playing at a nearby park, as well as some damaged buildings in the area.

The explosions are the first two to have occurred in Aleppo, the second largest city and the economic power house of Syria.

Aleppo has remained mostly calm during the past 11-month-old turmoil in other parts of the country. The Syrian government accuses armed groups of trying to prompt Aleppo to take part in the anti-government movement.

news@theasian.asia