Dozens of people have been killed and injured in a double bombing attack in Homs, Syria. Talal Barazi, the governor of Homs, said at least 34 people had been killed, but other sources say the death toll was even higher.
The explosions at a traffic light at al-Siteen Street in the al-Zahra neighborhood happened within minutes of each other, witnesses said. One of them may have been triggered by a suicide bomber.
RIA Novosti cites a medical official who estimated a higher casualty number, saying the attack has claimed at least 46 lives and injured as many as 110.
Witnesses said at least one of the two blasts was triggered by a suicide bomber driving a car.
A follow-up bombing after an initial blast is a common terrorist tactic, which allows them to hit first responders, who rush to help victims.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry said the bombing was aimed at derailing the ongoing peace talks between Damascus and rebel forces, and called on the UN Security Council to condemn the attack.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry called on the UN Security Council to take responsibility for the preservation of international peace and security and take “immediate punitive and deterrent actions” against the sponsors of terrorists, particularly Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, in two letters addressed to the UN Secretary General and the Security Council’s Chairman, SANA reports.
In the letters, the ministry called the terrorist organizations acting in Syria tools of the Saudi and Turkish regimes adding that the Sunday attacks were Turkey and Saudi Arabia’s attempt to impede the diplomatic efforts aimed at finding a political solution to the Syrian crisis.
Bombings targeting civilians happen regularly in Syria, which has been riven by a five-year armed conflict. Islamic State claimed responsibility for a bombing in Homs last month, which killed at least 24 people. Another attack in December claimed 32 lives.