Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 15
Trend:
At least 31 people have been killed and dozens more wounded after two suicide bomb attacks in Syria's Damascus, the Guardian reports.
The first suicide bomber targeted the Palace of Justice, the main courthouse in central Damascus near the Old City. The justice minister, Najem al-Ahmad, told reporters the initial death toll was 31, mostly civilians.
The second suicide blast struck a restaurant in the al-Rabweh area, to the west of the first attack, causing several casualties, state media reported.
The courthouse bomber set off an explosive device as police tried to search him and stop him from entering the building, state television reported the Damascus police chief as saying.
The explosion hit the courthouse at a time when the area was crowded with lawyers, judges and civilians, harming a large number of people, Ahmed al-Sayyid, a senior state legal official told state-run al-Ikhbariya TV.
He later added that 45 people had been wounded.
No further details were immediately available.