BEIRUT — Three massive bomb blasts ripped through the heart of Syria’s commercial capital, Aleppo, on Tuesday, killing at least 31 people and causing widespread damage to a major square amid continuing clashes between government forces and rebels for control of the city.
The bombs, which apparently targeted a military officers’ club, went off in rapid succession shortly before 8 a.m. The club was demolished, and the blasts also tore the facades off several nearby buildings in Saadallah al-Jabri Square, a part of the city that is tightly controlled by the government.
Graphic
Graphic
Interactive: Recent events in Syria
The official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) attributed the blasts to suicide bombers. It described a major assault in which two suicide bombers detonated cars in the square, after which three suicide bombers approached the scene wearing Syrian army uniforms and explosive vests. The three were killed, it said, without giving further details.
Footage broadcast on state television showed three bodies wearing military uniforms lying on the ground amid piles of collapsed masonry and other debris. Rebels in the city said all of the casualties were members of the security forces, who maintain a heavy presence in the square, but state media said the dead also included civilians.
SANA put the death toll at 31, and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 48 people were killed, most of them soldiers.
The speaker of Syria’s People’s Assembly, Mohammad Jihad al-Laham, condemned what he called “the horrible terrorist bombings” and said he blamed the countries who are backing the rebels — usually identified in state media as Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The triple bombing was typical of a string of attacks carried out in Aleppo and Damascus by Jabhat al-Nusra, a militant group that has adopted many of the tactics used by al-Qaeda-affiliated extremists in Iraq.
Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility, a Free Syrian Army spokesman in Aleppo said the area was a legitimate target because the government had turned it into “a big military barracks.” High-ranking officers directing the fight in the city were living at the officers’ club, and two government-owned hotels damaged in the blast were being used to accommodate Syrian and Iranian intelligence operatives, Mohammed al-Halbi said.
The opposition has frequently claimed that Iranians are fighting alongside Syrian soldiers in the effort to crush the 19-month-old rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad’s rule, and Iran recently admitted that it is supplying advisers to help the government.
Aleppo has been the focus of a bitter and bloody struggle between government forces and the rebels since the Free Syrian Army launched a major offensive there in July. Hundreds have been killed and tens of thousands have fled their homes, leaving many parts of the city abandoned.
The bombs, which apparently targeted a military officers’ club, went off in rapid succession shortly before 8 a.m. The club was demolished, and the blasts also tore the facades off several nearby buildings in Saadallah al-Jabri Square, a part of the city that is tightly controlled by the government.
Graphic
Graphic
Interactive: Recent events in Syria
The official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) attributed the blasts to suicide bombers. It described a major assault in which two suicide bombers detonated cars in the square, after which three suicide bombers approached the scene wearing Syrian army uniforms and explosive vests. The three were killed, it said, without giving further details.
Footage broadcast on state television showed three bodies wearing military uniforms lying on the ground amid piles of collapsed masonry and other debris. Rebels in the city said all of the casualties were members of the security forces, who maintain a heavy presence in the square, but state media said the dead also included civilians.
SANA put the death toll at 31, and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 48 people were killed, most of them soldiers.
The speaker of Syria’s People’s Assembly, Mohammad Jihad al-Laham, condemned what he called “the horrible terrorist bombings” and said he blamed the countries who are backing the rebels — usually identified in state media as Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The triple bombing was typical of a string of attacks carried out in Aleppo and Damascus by Jabhat al-Nusra, a militant group that has adopted many of the tactics used by al-Qaeda-affiliated extremists in Iraq.
Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility, a Free Syrian Army spokesman in Aleppo said the area was a legitimate target because the government had turned it into “a big military barracks.” High-ranking officers directing the fight in the city were living at the officers’ club, and two government-owned hotels damaged in the blast were being used to accommodate Syrian and Iranian intelligence operatives, Mohammed al-Halbi said.
The opposition has frequently claimed that Iranians are fighting alongside Syrian soldiers in the effort to crush the 19-month-old rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad’s rule, and Iran recently admitted that it is supplying advisers to help the government.
Aleppo has been the focus of a bitter and bloody struggle between government forces and the rebels since the Free Syrian Army launched a major offensive there in July. Hundreds have been killed and tens of thousands have fled their homes, leaving many parts of the city abandoned.