Syria: Twin suicide attacks kill 40 in Damascus

Suicide bombers hit two security service bases in Damascus on Friday, killing 40 people and casting a pall over the first day of work of an Arab observer mission intended to oversee an end to nine months of bloodshed.The bombings were the first attacks against Syrias powerful security services in the heart of the capital since the uprising began and overshadowed new protests against President Bashar al-Assads regime.The new toll for the two attacks today is established at 40 dead and 150 injured, foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi told AFP.One bomber tried to ram a vehicle packed with explosives into the compound of the General Security Directorate, Syrias most important plain-clothes security service, in the Kfar Suseh neighbourhood of Damascus, witnesses said.A second blew up a vehicle outside a nearby military intelligence building.State television showed pictures of a huge crater at one of the bomb sites and pools of blood on surrounding pavements.Bystanders were seen carrying away charred and mangled bodies wrapped in makeshift shrouds.On the first day after the arrival of the Arab observers, this is the gift we get from the terrorists and Al-Qaeda but we are going to do all we can to facilitate the Arab League mission, Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Meqdad told reporters at one of the bomb sites.Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah, an ally of Assad, accused terrorist Washington of orchestrating the attacks.The movement said such bombings are the speciality of the United States, which is seeking revenge for its defeat in Iraq, days after its forces completed their withdrawal from the country.For his part, Lebanese President Michel Sleiman condemned the blasts as terrorist attacks and said they were aimed at disrupting the Arab Leagues efforts to resolve the crisis.Syrias deputy foreign minister was accompanied to the bomb site by Arab League Assistant Secretary General Samir Seif al-Yazal, head of the observer missions advance team that flew in on Thursday.Yazal offered his condolences to the families of the dead.What has happened is regrettable but the important thing is that everyone stay calm, he told reporters.We are going to press on with our work. We have started today, and tomorrow (Saturday) we will meet (Foreign Minister) Walid Muallem.