Syria’s largest city Aleppo rocked by blast

A major blast is reported to have ripped through Aleppo, Syria’s largest city. The bomb allegedly targeted the headquarters of Syria’s ruling Ba’ath Party.

According to local media, unidentified gunmen hurled a grenade at the headquarters of Syria’s ruling party, killing a security agent and damaging the building. Guards then opened fire at the assailants, though it was not clear whether anyone was killed in the exchange.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), told AFP that “initial details indicate that the Aleppo blast was targeting the local branch of the ruling Ba’ath party and there is no information until now on the number of victims that fell in the explosion.”

However, one guard at the headquarters died, apparently in a round of gunfire following the explosion, reports Reuters citing SOHR. Activists in the city said they heard a very loud noise that appeared to come from an area in center of Aleppo.

“The sound was so loud and after that there were a lot of echoes of gun fire. Now all the roads leading to Saadallah al-Jabiry square are closed down,” Reuters cites an activist who asked not to be named.

The blasts come hours after Syrian authorities killed a would-be suicide bomber, foiling a potentially major terror plot. The terrorist was shot before he had a chance to detonate 1,200 kilograms of explosives stashed in his minibus.

Posted on May 12 2012. Filed under World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry