Syrian bomb blasts kill over 30 in government stronghold area

Three suicide bombers detonated cars packed with explosives in the city’s main square yesterday, while a fourth explosion struck a few hundred yards away near the Old City and the Chamber of Commerce.

A military officer’s club and hotel being used by the military in Saadallah al-Jabri square bore the brunt of the attacks.

Over the past two months fierce fighting between rebels, who are attempting to overthrow President Bashar Assad, and government forces has erupted in Aleppo, which is Syria’s largest city and acts as the country’s main commercial hub.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts, which the government blamed on its opponents, while reports have surfaced that suggest regime forces are now preparing for a major offensive.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, reported dozens of casualties from the blasts, most of them members of the regime forces.

One shaken resident said: “It was like a series of earthquakes.

“It was terrifying, terrifying.”

He said the officers’ club and the hotel were almost completely destroyed.

Aleppo-based activist Mohammad Saeed said the explosions went off minutes apart at one of the city’s main squares.

He said the blasts appeared to have been caused by car bombs and were followed by clashes and heavy gunfire.

Mr Saeed added: “The area is heavily fortified by security and the presence of shabiha [pro-regime gunmen].

“It makes you wonder how car bombs could reach there.”

The bombing technique is a signature style of al-Qaeda-style jihadist groups, some of which are known to have entered Syria’s civil war to fight against the regime.

But the Syrian opposition denies any links to terrorists or any use of suicide attacks.

A Sunni extremist group called Jabhat al-Nusra, or Victory Front, has claimed responsibility for previous bombings.

Syrian television said the triple bombings targeted Saadallah al-Jabri square, describing them as the work of “terrorists” and said there were “multiple” casualties.

During the course of the 18-month uprising against President Assad, suicide and car bombings targeting security agencies and soldiers have become common in Syria, particularly in the capital, Damascus.

In July, rebels bombed a complex in Damascus, killing four senior security officials, including President Assad’s brother-in-law and the defence minister.

Aleppo had been spared from such bombings until February, when two suicide car bombers hit security compounds in the city’s industrial centre, killing 28 people.

The uprising against President Assad, which erupted in March 2011, has gradually morphed into a bloody civil war.

Activists have stated that the conflict has killed more than 30,000 people and has devastated entire neighbourhoods in Syria’s main cities.

Attempts to address the conflict at the United Nations have been continually blocked by a standoff in the Security Council between Russia and China, traditional Assad supporters, and Western powers seeking a tougher stance against the Syrian regime.

Yesterday also saw shelling from Syria kill at least three people, including a six-year-old boy, in the Turkish town of Akcakale, which is along the Syrian border.

Abdulhakim Ayhan, mayor of the Turkish town, said the boy and a woman were among the dead in the shelling.