Syria TV: 2 rigged vehicles cause explosion in capital killing several civilians, soldiers, most casualties are civilians; Syria Foreign Ministry: Lebanon warned al-Qaida had infiltrated from its territory.
Two booby-trapped cars blew up at security sites in Damascus on Friday, killing a number of civilians and soldiers, state television said, in the worst violence to hit Syria's capital during nine months of unrest against President Bashar Assad.
Syria's Dunia television channel put the number of dead from the blasts at 40 with 100 wounded and said most of the casualties were civilians. Dunia cited information from its own correspondents at the scene.
Syrian television described the attack as a suicide bombing and said initial inquiries indicated al-Qaida was behind it.
Syria's Foreign Ministry spokesman said Friday that Lebanon warned Damascus two days earlier that al-Qaida had infiltrated into Syria from its territory.
"The Lebanese authorities warned us two days ago that al-Qaida group infiltrated to Syria from (north Lebanon's town of) Ersal," spokesman Jihad Makdesi told Reuters in an email.
"And today's suicide bombers caused the death of around 40 and more than 150 injuries, all are civilians and military personnel. Freedom seekers should know that this is not the way to achieve democracy."
The attack came a day after the arrival of Arab League officials to prepare for a monitoring team that will check whether Assad is implementing a plan to end the bloodshed.
State television broadcast footage of bloodied bodies being carried in blankets and stretchers into ambulances and people hunting through rubble of a badly damaged building.
A Reuters cameraman was barred from the site. State television also broadcast shots of bloodied streets littered with mangled human remains and blackened debris.
State television said the blasts targeted a state security administration building and a local security branch.
The United Nations says Assad's forces have killed more than 5,000 people in their crackdown on the protests, which erupted in March inspired by uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
Syria says it faces a campaign by foreign-backed gunmen and terrorist groups. This week it said more than 2,000 members of the army and security forces had been killed since March.
Anti-Assad protests have swept the country, although central Damascus and the northern commercial city of Aleppo have remained relatively quiet.
A small blast was reported near a Syrian intelligence building in Damascus last month, but there was little damage.
But in recent months the mainly peaceful pro-democracy movement has become overshadowed by pockets of armed insurgency that have launched attacks on Syrian security forces.
The escalating violence on both sides has raised fears that the country is slipping towards civil war.
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"Twin Bombings Kill at Least 47 in Syria's Capital" (Part-1) PBS Newshour 12/23/2011
RAY SUAREZ (Newshour): The carnage that's bloodied much of Syria came home to the capital today. Two bombs erupted in Damascus, killing nearly four dozen people and wounding more than 150.
We begin with a report narrated by Inigo Gilmore of Independent Television News.
We have some technical difficulties with the Inigo Gilmore report. We'll bring it to you now.
INIGO GILMORE: One of the bomb blasts left this huge crater in the ground. The tangled bodies of the dead were ferried away on stretchers, a doubly whammy in the heart of the capital, Damascus -- the targets, two buildings belonging to Syrian security forces.
MAN (through translator): I heard the explosion and saw many body parts. There were dead bodies all over the place, bodies of women and children in their cars.
INIGO GILMORE: The attacks were carried out by suicide bombers driving vehicles packed with explosives. At least, that's what the government claims. Even before the dust had settled, Syria's state media seized on the attacks, saying they were further evidence of a threat from foreign-linked armed gangs.
Within minutes, state TV was reporting that terrorists linked to al-Qaida were responsible. At the bombing sites, heavily armed security forces gathered to pledge their loyalty to the regime. Car bombings have become a familiar feature in neighboring Iraq, but these were the first in Damascus since the uprising began.
Opponents of Bashar al-Assad's regime scoffed at government claims about al-Qaida links to the attacks, pointing out that these security buildings were heavily guarded.
ALI HASSAN, Syrian Revolution General Commission: We are assured now that those bombings are happening by the regime to prevent this Arab League to meet the activists directly.
INIGO GILMORE: He was referring to a visit by a delegation from the Arab League, who arrived in Syria just hours before the bombs blasts. They've come to oversee an initiative aimed at stopping the violence that's left more than 5,000 dead.
Today, they were taken straight to the scene of the bombings to see the conflict from the regime's perspective. "And you still say there are no armed gangs in Syria?" a state journalist scoffs at this female delegate.
Accused of being perpetrators of mass killings, the regime today was casting itself as the victims. It's a propaganda windfall at a crucial moment. They're confident they've got their opponents on the run.
FAISAL MEKDAD, Syrian deputy foreign minister (through translator): The committee of the Arab League have seen the destruction and the bodies of the dead. We will visit the injured later. No human being can see these murders without condemning them.
INIGO GILMORE: This amateur video apparently shows large-scale demonstrations today in the northern region of Idlib, the scene of a massacre this week, according to the opposition.
These are the bodies of up to 90 men from the opposition Free Syria Army, allegedly killed by regime forces. It's mass killings like this one that continue to fuel the protests. Whether the Arab League will stand up to the regime and insist on hearing stories of atrocities firsthand will determine whether their mission has any credibility and if they can really do anything to stop the killings.
PBS Newshour 12/23/2011
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