Explosive device blast kills 4 in Damascus

Four people were killed and 30 others injured when "terrorists" detonated Monday an explosive device in al-Mazzeh district in Syria's capital Damascus, the state-run SANA news agency said. The blast rattled the Mazzeh 86 area, which is largely dominated by people from the Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shiite Islam to which Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the ruling elites belong. The pro-government al-Ekhbaria TV said the blast led to the wounding of many people, including children, some of whom are in critical conditions. The blast was coupled with the blast of a suicide car bomb in the central province of Hama, accordingto the state media. Explosions have become daily occurrences across Syria, as battles between the armed rebels and the government troops keep gaining momentum. A shadowy group linked to al-Qaida terror network, calling itself al-Nusra, has claimed responsibility for most of the blasts that have rocked the country during the 20-month-old bloody crisis.