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12 confirmed dead in Syrian bomb blasts

At least 30 people were wounded in the blasts, a Syrian security source told dpa.

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Tartus, much of whose original population belongs to President Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite Muslim sect, also hosts large numbers of refugees from elsewhere in Syria.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attacks. The facilities have been used during Moscow’s Syria campaign too – they enable provision of military supplies to the Russian contingent fighting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).

The worst event occurred at a check point at the entrance of Tartus city, where 30 people were killed and nearly 50 were injured, when six armed men from a van attacked and a suicide bomber detonated his explosive belt.

Mr Obama described talks with Mr Putin as tough but “productive” after their meeting at the G20 summit in China.

The first bombing happened in the central city of Homs when a booby-trapped vehicle was detonated after being discovered by government soldiers at a checkpoint at the Bab Tadmur area.

Syria has been divided among government forces, rebels and the IS since the civil war began in the country in 2011.

Back in May, the Islamic State group claimed twin suicide bombings in Tartus and neighbouring Jableh that killed over 160 people. The militant group said it sent three suicide bombers to the area, the first of them in a auto.

The SOHR aid that attack targeted a checkpoint and gave a toll of three dead.

The US is particularly concerned by the deteriorating conditions in and around Syria’s second city, Aleppo, where rebel-held districts are once again under siege after government forces advanced on Sunday.

Reports say blasts also happened in the city of Homs and on a road outside Damascus.

In the predominantly-Kurdish city of Hasakah, the IS said, a bomber carried out a suicide attack against a checkpoint of Kurdish security forces, known as Assayish.

It was hit in May by several explosions that killed more 100 people.

A suicide bomber on a motorcycle in the northeastern city of Hasakeh killed eight people, SANA said.

The Kurdish Popular Protection Units (YPG) militia took near complete control of the north-eastern city last month after a week of clashes with government troops. Turkey began an operation inside Syria on Aug 24, targeting both IS but also Syrian Kurdish forces that have been a key U.S. partner in the fight against the jihadist group in Syria.

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Successive rounds of worldwide negotiations aimed at find a political solution have failed to bear fruit, though US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov are due to resume discussions on stemming the violence Monday.

Multiple bomb blasts in different Syrian cities