Damascus goes dark after airport explosion

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2. More: Much of Syria blacked out by rebel attack on gas pipeline: government

(Reuters) - Much of Syria, including the capital Damascus, was hit by a power cut late on Wednesday after rebels attacked a gas pipeline, state media said.


"A terrorist attack on a gas pipeline that feeds a power station in the south has led to a power outage in the provinces and work to repair it is in progress," Electricity Minister Emad Khamis told state news agency SANA.

A resident in the center of Damascus who asked to remain anonymous said "the whole city just went dark" and she could see the glow of a fire near the international airport and hear heavy machinegun fire.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based group that reports on abuses and battlefield developments using sources on both sides of Syria's civil war, said the explosion was caused by rebel artillery that hit a gas pipeline near the airport.


http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/23/us-syria-crisis-blackout-idUSBRE99M13320131023



Smoke rises after what activist said was a fire near Damascus International Airport October 23, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Ahmad Alshmi