Syria’s Daraa, origin of uprising, rocked by twin blasts
A Syrian man holding a boy runs for cover as a second bomb explodes near the northern Syrian town of Al-Bab, 40 kilometers north-east of Aleppo on Nov. 4, 2012. An AFP correspondent reported three air strikes in close succession on Al-Bab.
Two bomb explosions were reported in Syria's southern city of Daraa today, according to state television and activist groups, said the Associated Press.
More from GlobalPost: Syria getting a lot worse very fast, warns UN
Syria's official Sana news agency did not provide additional details, but the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told Reuters today the blasts were suicide car bombings that killed dozens of security officers.
The watchdog group is fed information by opposition sources on the ground in Syria, and they told AP the explosions followed clashes between regime and rebel forces in Daraa, where the rebels first launched a rebellion against the government last March.
The resulting conflict quickly devolved into a civil war believed to have taken over 30,000 lives.
The Observatory said two bombs went off near a military intelligence office, according to AP, but Reuters cited the same group as saying the blasts struck a military camp.
State-run television reported "news of casualties among civilians and big material damage in the two places," according to Reuters, but provided no further information.
Today's unrest comes a day after some 9,000 people fled the country within 24 hours, a move that may signal rising violence.
The story you just read is not locked behind a paywall because listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Now more than ever, we need your help to support our global reporting work and power the future of The World. Can we count on you?