Eight security personnel have died in a car bomb blast at a police station in Damascus, Syria\u2019s capital, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.<\/p>\n
\n \u201cAt least eight regime forces were killed, and a number of
\n civilians injured, after a large explosion caused by a car bomb
\n hit the Jobar neighborhood near a police station,\u201d<\/i> said SOHR
\n director, Rami Abdel Rahman.\n <\/p>\n
The number of casualties was not immediately known, but a ‘number
\n of civilians’ were also injured, according to AFP. A Sky News
\n Arabic correspondent placed the immediate death toll closer to
\n 10.\n <\/p>\n
The explosion took place at around 5:30am local time (02:30 GMT),
\n on Sunday morning, and was speculated in social media to have
\n been instigated by the Al-Qaeda allied al-Nusra Front insurgents.
\n However, there has been no confirmation of the perpetrators\u2019
\n identities yet, and state news agency SANA has not yet released a
\n statement.\n <\/p>\n
Brief gunfire accompanying the blast was reported in the city’s
\n Abbasids Square and around Parliament Square, with some local
\n agencies also reporting later clashes in both Aleppo and Homs.\n <\/p>\n
Clashes between rebels and regime forces have been ongoing in the
\n central northeastern area of Damascus\u2019 Jobar, according to SOHR.\n <\/p>\n
Hundreds of thousands of Syrian students are expected to be
\n sitting high school diploma tests on Sunday.\n <\/p>\n
Multiple explosions struck the outskirts of Damascus last month
\n when airstrikes \u2014 attributed to Israel, but not confirmed \u2014
\n blasted military posts at the beginning of May, with the
\n explosions reportedly killing scores of soldiers.\n <\/p>\n
The conflict in Syria has entered its third year, with Damascus
\n frequently being the site of bomb attacks. At least 80,000 people
\n have been killed since the uprising against President Bashar
\n Assad began in March 2011, according to UN estimates.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n