Huge Blast Shakes Central Damascus

February 21, 2013 from Russia Today

At least 31 people have been killed by a series of blasts in central Damascus, including a huge car bomb that damaged the Russian Embassy and the offices of the ruling Ba'ath party. The bombings came as the Free Syrian Army's 48-hour ultimatum for Hezbollah to stop shelling or face retaliation expired.

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Syrian Civil War

The Syrian civil war is an ongoing armed conflict in Syria between forces loyal to the Syrian Ba'ath Party government and those seeking to oust it. The conflict began on 15 March 2011, with popular demonstrations that grew nationwide by April 2011. These demonstrations were pa... Explore this topic

Damascus

Damascus, commonly known in Syria as ash-Sham and nicknamed as the City of Jasmine, is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo. It borders Quneitra, Daraa and As-Suwayda to the south, Jordan to the east, Homs to the north, and Lebanon to the west. It is a... Explore this topic

Explosion

An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known as detonations and travel via supersonic shock waves. Su... Explore this topic

Syria

Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, i... Explore this topic

Car bomb

A car bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device, is an improvised explosive device placed inside a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupa... Explore this topic

Bomb

A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanical stress, t... Explore this topic

Ba'ath Party

The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was a political party founded in Syria by Michel Aflaq, Salah al-Din al-Bitar and associates of Zaki al-Arsuzi. The party espoused Ba'athism, which is an ideology mixing Arab nationalist, pan-Arabism, Arab socialist and anti-imperialist interest... Explore this topic

Hezbollah

Hezbollah — also transliterated Hizbullah, Hizballah, etc. — is a Shi'a Islamic militant group and political party based in Lebanon. It receives financial and political support from Iran and Syria, and its paramilitary wing is regarded as a resistance movement throughout much ... Explore this topic

Free Syrian Army

The Free Syrian Army is an armed opposition structure operating in Syria during the Syrian civil war. Composed of defected Syrian Armed Forces personnel and volunteers, its formation was announced on 29 July 2011 in a video released on the internet by a uniformed group of dese... Explore this topic

Bashar al-Assad

Bashar Hafez al-Assad is the President of Syria and Regional Secretary of the Syrian-led branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. He has served as President since 2000, when he succeeded his father, Hafez al-Assad, who had ruled Syria for 30 years prior to his death. Al-Assa... Explore this topic

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Syrian Civil War

Damascus

Syria

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Syria: Deadly Car Bomb Rocks Central Damascus

Al Jazeera English | Apr 8

At least 15 people have been killed after a car bomb exploded in central Damascus. Dozens more were injured. State TV is calling it a suicide attac...