The TV says one of the rockets fired on Tuesday hit the Dubeet hospital in the central neighborhood of Muhafaza. The report gave no breakdown of the casualties from the blasts.
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A renowned Russian orchestra performed a concert Thursday in the ruins of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, which was liberated from the clutches of ISIS less than six weeks ago. The concert, entitled “Prayer from Palmyra: Music Revives the Ancient Walls”, was performed in the “memory of all the victims of terror”, the president said.
“The world community extremely neglectfully treated the threat of ISIS and global terrorism, and it seems to me should now atone for its guilt by helping to save what can still be saved”, the Russian minister of culture said, according to the Washington Post.
Earnest said it was too early to say whether Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces carried out the attack, but he said he had no knowledge of any USA or coalition aircraft operating in the area.
Thursday’s concert has echoes of a similar performance, also conducted by Gergiev, in August 2008, when the Mariinsky performed in front of the bombed out parliament of the self-proclaimed Republic of South Ossetia after Russian forces defeated the Georgian army in a short war over the territory.
Syrian troops backed by Russian air strikes and special forces on the ground recaptured UNESCO world heritage site Palmyra from Islamic State group fighters in late March, delivering a major propaganda coup for both Damascus and Moscow.
The concert in Palmyra will not be the first he has conducted in a place where the Russian military has carried out controversial operations.
Among those in the audience were Russian sappers who have been carrying out demining in the town to remove bombs left by the IS militants.
Before the concert started, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke live via videolink, describing the event as a remembrance of all victims of terrorism and a sign of hope in the face of worldwide terrorism. “I consider it as a sign of thankfulness, remembrance and hope, gratitude to everyone who fights terrorism, not even sparing their lives”, Putin said, when addressing the concert’s participants in a videoconference on May 5.
The TV says government jets are bombing rebel positions outside the village.
At least 49 people were wounded in the attacks on a village 45 kilometres (28 miles) east of homes, Syria’s third-largest city, according to state media and the regional governor, Talal Barrazi.
Homs Gov. Talal Barrazi told The Associated Press that the blasts were trigged by a auto bomb and a suicide attacker.
As people gathered to help the victims, a suicide bomber riding a motorcycle detonated his explosives belt nearby.
The 10 killed in Homs included four children and three women, state TV said. The area is close to where Syrian troops and IS gunmen have been fighting for control of the vital Shaer gas field, which fell to the Islamic State on Wednesday after the extremists overran 13 government checkpoints and captured a Syrian soldier.
The twin attack in the central province of Homs came hours after a truce brought relative calm to the northern city of Aleppo, which has been the center of violence in recent weeks.
Russian and Syrian military personnel could be seen in the audience.
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“Aleppo today, as well as all Syrian cities embrace the heroic Stalingrad and pledge that despite the viciousness of the aggression … our cities, villages, people and army will not accept anything less than defeating the aggression”, Assad said.
