Car bomb explodes in central Syria's Homs, killing 5 people

A car bomb exploded Wednesday in a commercial area in the central city of Homs, killing at least five people and wounding 30, the provincial governor said.

 

Homs Governor Talal Barrazi said the car was parked a street in the pro-government neighborhood of Akrama when it exploded. He told Syrian state television that it was the third time a car bomb has targeted the same street over the past year.

"This is a cowardly terrorist act that targeted the central commercial area in the city of Homs," Barrazi said.

The broadcaster aired footage showing damaged cars and shops. Ambulance sirens could be heard in the background.

Lebanon's Al-Manar satellite television channel, owned by the militant Hezbollah group, said the blast killed at least seven people.

Homs has been hit by car bombs in the past, mostly targeting pro-government neighborhoods. Syria's uprising and civil war has killed more than 220,000 people since it began in March 2011.

The blast came a week after Syrian rebels and government forces began observing a 10-day truce in the last rebel-held area of Homs, marking another setback for opposition fighters.

Government forces had blockaded the Waer neighborhood for some 20 months, only sporadically allowing in food.

Homs-based Syrian activist Mohammed Saleh wrote on his Facebook page that the "perpetrators are those who don't want a solution in Waer."