Syria: Car bombing near Damascus kills at least 20 injuring dozens
A car bomb killed at least 20 people and wounded dozens more on Friday when it exploded in Rankus, a town 20 miles north of the Syrian capital Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
April 10, 2012 Diagram by Voice of America
Activists in a nearby town said the blast occurred near a mosque soon after Friday prayers. Their initial reported death toll was higher at 37 dead and said more than 100 had been wounded.
Mohammed Saeed, an activist in the eastern Damascus suburb of Douma, and the Observatory’s director Rami Abdul-Rahman both said the town is neither rebel-held nor regime-held.
Abdul-Rahman said the local residents have an agreement with the rebels not to bring their weapons into Rankous in order to avoid government shelling.
It was not immediately possible to verify their reports.
Islamic tradition calls for very quick burials so some gathered and began funeral preparations, even marching in one funeral procession when several rockets were fired by government troops and wounded some of the mourners.
