Dozens Martyred in Double Bombing in Homs, Syria

Local Editor

At least 22 people were martyred in a double suicide bomb attack at an army checkpoint in the central Syrian city of Homs on Tuesday, state media said.

In a breaking news alert, state television said 100 people had also been injured in the blasts in the Zara neighborhood of the city, which has been targeted in bomb attacks multiple times before.

The provincial governor of Homs, Talal al-Barazi, announced that at least 19 people had been martyred in the attacks.

He said the two bombers appeared to have pulled up at the army checkpoint in a car together, with one exiting the vehicle before the other detonated his explosives while still inside.

In the chaos of the first blast's aftermath, and as a crowd gathered, the second bomber detonated his explosives, Barazi said.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group, also reported the blasts, saying at least 21 people had been martyred.

The group's director Rami Abdel-Rahman said the second suicide bomber had been wearing military clothes.

The Zara district of Homs has been targeted in multiple bomb attacks in the past, including in late December, when 19 people were martyred in several simultaneous blasts.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team