The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the six bombings that rocked key Syrian cities and killed at least 48 people earlier on Monday.
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Foreign and Expatriates Ministry affirmed on Monday that the terrorist, bloody explosions which took place today in the Syrian cities of Tartous, Homs, Damascus countryside and Hasaka are a continuation of the systemized terrorism practiced by the terrorist organizations, calling on Security Council to take immediate, punitive and deterrent procedures against the countries that support terrorism.
The deadliest incident was outside Tartous, home to a Russian naval base and in the heartland of President Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite sect.
A string of bombings claimed by the Islamic State group killed dozens across Syria yesterday, as Washington and Moscow failed to agree on a deal to stem the country’s violence.
The attacks took place between 08:00 and 09:00 (05:00-06:00 GMT) on Monday.
The Observatory said the twin blasts killed 35 people, including an army colonel, and injured dozens more.
The first explosion was a vehicle bomb.
Then, as a crowd gathered at the scene to help the wounded, a suicide bomber detonated his explosive belt, the source added.
The turmoil underlined the complexity of a five-year civil war that has cut Syria into a patchwork of territories held by the state and an often competing array of armed factions and sectarian groups.
“We received information about a double explosion at the entrance to the city of Tartus, on the government highway under Arazona bridge”, RIA Novosti reports, citing local militia.
State media also reported another bomb attack on the al-Sabboura road west of the capital Damascus, in which one person was killed, and three others wounded.
“It’s an area that houses officers and their families”.
In Hassakeh, an explosives-packed motorcycle was blown up at the Marsho roundabout, killing five civilians and injuring two others, Sana said.
Syrian state TV said 48 people were killed, but British-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the toll at 53 people. The city, Syria’s third largest, is largely under government control, with only one neighbourhood still under opposition control.
USA officials had hoped to reach a deal in time for President Obama’s meeting on Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in China.
Mr Obama said he and Mr Putin had had “productive” discussions and had agreed to continue the search for a comprehensive truce.
“Given the gaps of trust that exist, that’s a tough negotiation”, Obama said at a news conference.
“But my instructions to Secretary [of State John] Kerry and Mr Putin’s instructions to [Foreign Minister Sergei] Lavrov were to keep working at it over the next several days”. Putin said the talks were “on the right track” and he hoped both nations would strengthen cooperation against terrorism.
It said the explosion came as authorities and rebels in al-Waer were working to establish reconciliation that might lead to an end to insurgency in the neighborhood, the last rebel-held district inside the city of Homs.
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Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he was working with the US-led coalition and Russian Federation to try to establish a ceasefire in Aleppo before the Eid al-Adha religious holiday expected to start around September 11.
