Blast Rips through Central Damascus
A blast ripped through central Damascus near a hotel and a police station on Monday, injuring at least four people and damaging shops, official Syrian television al-Ikhbariya and witnesses said.
"A bomb exploded loudly near the Hotel Kinda" in busy Marja neighborhood in the center of the capital, the television said.
"Four people were slightly hurt and shops damaged," it added.
Witnesses said the explosion occurred near a police station in Marja and that the area had been cordoned off by security forces. Ambulances were seen at the site of the blast.
Bombings have hit Syria's major cities in recent months, provoking mounting concern that al-Qaida has taken advantage of the uprising against President Bashar Assad.
According to U.N. estimates, more than 9,000 people have died in the regime's crackdown on the uprising that began in March last year, inspired by Arab Spring protests that toppled long-time dictators in Tunisia and Egypt.
Source: Agence France Presse
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