At least 16 members of Syrias security forces were killed by a suicide vehicle bomber and ensuing clashes with rebels at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Damascus on Friday, an opposition monitoring group said. Syrian state television reported the blast but did not specify a death toll, saying only that several people had been killed or wounded in a terrorist bombing. The pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Syrian fighter jets retaliated by striking nearby opposition-held areas, where clashes erupted after a suicide bomber blew himself up in a vehicle at an army checkpoint near Jaramana, a suburb of the capital. More than 100,000 people have been killed in Syrias 2-1/2-year-old conflict, which began with popular protests against President Bashar al-Assad before degenerating into civil war. The British-based Observatory, which has a network of activists across Syria, said the suicide bomber was from the Nusra Front, al Qaeda-linked rebel group. It said several other opposition units had joined Nusra fighters in the attack. Activists said rebels fired rockets into Jaramana, a suburb held by the government, during the fighting. They said Assads forces launched four air raids on rebel-held districts nearby.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 10:32:26 +0000
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