25 killed, 175 hurt as explosions hit Syrian city of Aleppo Friday

Beirut: Twenty-five people were killed and 175 people were wounded in two blasts targeting security bases in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on Friday, state television quoted the Health Ministry as saying.

Earlier it was reported the exposions had killed 11 people — soldiers and civilians.

State television reported the two "terrorist explosions" targeted a branch of military intelligence and a security force base, it said.

Weeping TV reporter

A weeping television presenter on state-run TV showed graphic footage of at least five corpses, saying the blasts went off near a public garden where children had been playing.

The presenter said the weather was sunny and warm in Aleppo and many people were having breakfast in the public garden near the military compound when the explosion happened.

Some children were killed in the blast, he said, and held up a roller blade in his hand.

Debris

Debris filled the street and residential buildings appeared to have their windows shattered.

No emergency vehicles or ambulances were visible in the footage, and earth-moving equipment was seen clearing the rubble. The location did not appear to be closed off, as local residents milled around the site.

"Civilians and members of the military were martyred and wounded in the terrorist explosions that targeted Aleppo," the TV reported. It added that the targets of the blasts were a compound of the Military Security Directorate and another of the police force.

Gunfire

The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights quoted residents as saying three blasts occurred, including one near a security forces' building in the city. They also reported hearing gunfire.

A resident contacted by Reuters said an area around a military intelligence complex in the New Aleppo district had been sealed off after the explosions.

Aleppo, Syria's main commercial hub, had been relatively quiet during the 11-month uprising against President Bashar Al Assad but has seen increasing protests and violence in recent weeks.

Suicide car bombers

On December 23, suicide car bombers struck Damascus in what was then the bloodiest violence in the capital since the revolt against Al Assad began.

At least 44 people were killed then and the government blamed al Qaeda for the attack, which took place one day after the arrival of an Arab League observer mission.

On Jan. 6, a suicide bomber killed 26 people and wounded 63 in Damascus. Syria's Interior Minister Ibrahim al-Shaar vowed an "iron-fist response" to the attack.