Casualties as new bombing hits Damascus: state media

DAMASCUS: A "terrorist" bombing rocked Damascus on Friday causing casualties among civilians and the security forces, state media reported, barely a fortnight after two suicide bombers killed 44 people in the Syrian capital.

The "powerful explosion" struck in the Midan neighbourhood in the heart of the city, state television said.

The official news agency spoke of casualties among both civilians and security force personnel and the wail of ambulance sirens was heard in the city centre.

The December 23 bombings sparked a swirl of claims and counter-claims over who was responsible, with the authorities saying they were likely the work of Al-Qaeda and the opposition pointing the finger at the regime.

The latest blast came ahead of planned mass protests by pro-democracy activists to demand that an Arab League observer mission in Syria for two weeks acknowledge its failure to stem nearly 10 months of bloodshed and hand over to the United Nations.