Reports: Two blasts hit Syria's capital city

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2. Two Blasts Near Security Agencies in Damascus

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Two large explosions, believed to be car bombs, struck the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Saturday morning, hitting intelligence and security buildings in busy sections of the city and killing or wounding dozens of civilians and security personnel, Syrian state media reported.

The back-to-back bombings in President Bashar al-Assad’s seat of power — one exploding in the same area where a state security headquarters was bombed in December — shocked residents who have enjoyed relative calm during the yearlong uprising against the government and a fierce and crackdown. And the blasts stood as a direct challenge to the government’s recent claims that it was close to restoring order.

Syrian media reports, quoting the health minister, Wael al-Halki, said at least 27 people had been killed and 97 wounded in the explosions. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

It was the fourth time in three months that mysterious bombings have hit security compounds in Damascus and Aleppo, the country’s commercial hub and largest city. They stoked fears that, as an uprising that began peacefully transforms into a grinding, asymmetrical war, Syria could become an arena for forces that neither the government nor the opposition fully controls.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/world/middleeast/damascus-syria-two-large-explosions-reported.html