Deadly blasts rip through Aleppo - BBC News [getdailynow.blogspot.com]
John Stossel - The State Against BlacksHave big government "poverty measures" helped or hindered Blacks? Author-columnist-professor Dr. Walter E Williams joins John to explain. www.LibertyPen.com
The BBC's Jim Muir: "Whoever did this was aiming to cause maximum disruption, the biggest psychology as well as physical blow to the state presence in the city"
At least 31 people have been killed and dozens wounded by five bomb explosions in the centre of Syria's second city, Aleppo, officials have said.
Four of the blasts happened in the city's Saadallah al-Jabari Square, near a military officers' club and a hotel.
Pro-government al-Ikhbariya TV broadcast pictures of bodies being pulled out of buildings damaged by the blasts and a large crater in a road.
Government forces have been fighting rebels for weeks for control of Aleppo.
Rebel fighters launched a new offensive last week to try to seize more districts. Fires over the weekend gutted the historic central souk.
On Tuesday, Hezbollah's al-Manar TV and the Lebanese newspaper al-Diyar, which backs the Syrian government, both reported that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had ordered thousands more troops sent to Aleppo to finish the battle against the rebels there.
Deadliest bombings
- December 2011, Damascus: Car bombs outside intelligence agency buildings leave 44 dead
- January 2012, Damascus: Explosion at intersection kills 25 people
- February 2012, Aleppo: Twin suicide bombings target security compounds, killing 28 people
- March 2012, Damascus: Blasts kill 27 people near intelligence and security buildings
- May 2012, Damascus: Twin car bombings outside military intelligence building kill 55 people
- July 2012, Damascus: Blast at National Security Bureau HQ kills four senior security officials
- October 2012, Aleppo: Three bombs explode in Saadallah al-Jabari Square, killing 31 people
Casualty reports come from officials and state media and are not verified
- Timeline: Syria's bloodiest days
- In pictures: Aleppo bombings
Al-Diyar said Mr Assad was flown to Aleppo by helicopter and was personally directing the campaign, though that has not been confirmed.
'Terrifying'State and pro-government media reported that at least three of the four blasts in Saadallah al-Jabari Square on Wednesday morning were suicide car bombings. The fifth bomb reportedly exploded a few hundred metres away, on the edge of the Old City near the Chamber of Commerce.
Some buildings had their facades completely ripped off; others were virtually demolished by the blasts, leaving huge piles of rubble and debris, and craters in the road.
Bodies were shown being carried away with blankets being used as stretchers. Many of the casualties were said to be civilians.
State TV reported that after the explosions, two or three "terrorists" appeared, wearing military uniforms and explosive vests. However, they were shot dead before they could carry out any attack, it said.
Photographs of the assailants' bodies were published by the state news agency, Sana.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based activist group, said the blasts had occurred near the Officers' Club. Al-Manar said the third bomb had targeted City Hall and the al-Amir hotel.
"It was like a series of earthquakes," a resident who did not want to be named told the Associated Press. "It was terrifying, terrifying."
He said the officers' club and the hotel were almost completely destroyed.
Many of the casualties were said to be civilians
Officials said the death toll might rise and the Syrian Observatory - which says its reports are impartial, though its information cannot be verified - cited medical sources as saying that at least 40 people had died.
The government says scores of people have died in a series of "terrorist" bombings in Syria's main cities, many of them targeting security facilities, since the uprising against President Assad began in March 2011.
Opposition activists, however, maintain that the security forces planted the bombs to discredit both the rebels and the peaceful protesters.
One activist in Aleppo, Mohammed Saeed, said there were questions about Wednesday's bombings.
"The area is heavily fortified by security and the presence of shabiha," he told AP, referring to pro-government militiamen. "It makes you wonder how car bombs could reach there."
Analysts say this is not beyond the realms of possibility, but that radical Islamist militants are known to be operating in Syria. A shadowy group called the al-Nusra Front has said it was behind several bombings.
The speaker of the Syrian parliament, Jihad al-Laham, said foreign powers supporting opposition rebel groups were responsible.
"We condemn these crimes... We also condemn the countries that are conspiring against Syria and support the terrorists," he told state TV.
Suggest Deadly blasts rip through Aleppo - BBC News Articles Question by michael_kleman2003: If Delaware is "the 1st state",what #'d state is Pennsylvania? I have heard of Delaware as being "the 1st state", so if Delaware is considered "the 1st state", what #'d state is Pennsylvania? Best answer for If Delaware is "the 1st state",what #'d state is Pennsylvania?:
Answer by billyfromqueens
2nd
Answer by H_A_V_0_C
Using the order in which states ratified the U.S. Constitution (that's why Delaware calls itself the 1st state), Pennsylvania would be 2nd, having ratified 5 days after Delaware.
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