DUSHANBE, February 22, 2016, Asia-Plus — Bomb blasts in the Syrian cities of Homs and Damascus have left at least 140 people dead, international media outlets say.
Both of Sunday”s attacks targeted areas dominated by minorities within Islam reviled by the Sunni Muslim radicals of the so-called Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.
At least four blasts struck the southern Damascus suburb of Sayyida Zeinab, killing at least 83 people, Syrian state media outlets were quoted as saying by the
BBC
.
Earlier in Homs, 57 people, mainly civilians, were killed in a double car bombing, a monitoring group reported.
In Damascus, at least four explosions were reported in Sayyida Zeinab, the location of Syria”s holiest Shia Muslim shrine, said to contain the grave of the Prophet Muhammad”s granddaughter.
The state-run
Sana
news agency reported at least 83 dead and 178 wounded.
The
Amaq
news agency, which is linked to Islamic State, said IS militants had detonated a car bomb and then blown up explosive belts, according to the
BBC
.
The district was hit by suicide attacks last month that left 71 people dead and which IS fighters also said they had carried out.
In Homs, the blasts happened in a predominantly Alawite district, the sect to which President Bashar al-Assad belongs.
According to international media sources, Syrian state TV footage showed debris and mangled vehicles.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry has said a “provisional agreement” has been reached with Russia on a partial truce in the conflict.
He had spoken to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, he said, and they had agreed on terms but details still needed to be worked out.
