The hospital, which was taking in victims from at least three other blasts that hit in the city on Monday – including one at a crowded bus station – was badly damaged and is no longer operational, World Health Organization also said.
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According to the Syrian foreign ministry, terrorists first detonated a vehicle bomb at the main bus station in Tartus, which was immediately followed by two suicide bomb explosions, one inside the bus station and the other in a nearby residential neighborhood. Both Assads have amply rewarded the population for their loyalty throughout their autocratic rule, and the incumbent Assad has been keen to project an image of stability in these strongholds. Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the attacks.
The Amaq news agency reported on social media that “attacks by Islamic State fighters hit Alawite gatherings in Tartus and Jableh on the Syria coast”.
A handout photograph released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency shows flames rising following a bombing at a bus station in Tartus, Syria, on Monday.
IS claimed the blasts in a statement, saying they were in retaliation for Syrian regime and Russian air strikes against the jihadists and vowed to carry out “more devastating and bitter attacks”.
Dozens more were killed in Tartus when a vehicle bomb went off in the bus station, and then two men blew themselves up when people gathered, according to the observatory. A resident said she heard the first explosion followed by the wail of ambulance sirens rushing to the scene.
Tartus hosts Russia’s only naval facility in the Mediterranean and has been key to resupplying Moscow’s expeditionary forces in Syria.
The seven closely-coordinated morning blasts in the pro-government cities of Tartus and Jableh targeted civilians in large numbers, and seemed meant to send a message that no part of Syria is safe from violence.
He says the offensive achieved “more than what was planned for”, without elaborating on the operation. Jableh is to the north in Latakia province, home to the main air base being used by the Russian jets supporting the regime from the air. Insurgents are known to have a presence in rural Latakia.
With Isil losing ground both in Syria, to a Kurdish-led, US-supported alliance in the north-east, and in Iraq, it is increasing the frequency of bomb attacks against civilians.
The Kremlin condemned the blasts, saying they “demonstrate yet again how fragile the situation is in Syria and the need to take energetic measures to relaunch peace talks”.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran calls for the worldwide community to commit its legal and moral obligations and responsibilities in an all-out confrontation with this ominous, inhumane phenomenon”, he underlined.
Government forces and their allies have recently stepped up bombardment of areas in Aleppo province in the north, which has become a focal point for the escalating violence. State media had said 78 people had been killed in what is Assad’s coastal heartland. The war in Syria has killed an estimated 270-thousand people and displaced millions since March 2011. The government refers to all rebels fighting against it as terrorists.
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A general view shows the devastation after a bus station in Jableh was bombed.
