Syrian Blasts Leave at Least 45 Dead
A triple bombing claimed by the Islamic State group killed at least 45 people near the Syrian capital of Damascus.
Syria's state news agency SANA said that the blasts went off in Sayyda Zeinab, a predominantly Shiite Muslim suburb of the Syrian capital, wounding more than 100 people. SANA said attackers detonated a car bomb at a bus stop. Then two suicide bombers set off more explosives.
The blast occured hours after U.N. leaders began Syrian peace talks in Geneva.
The talks got off to a rocky start Friday, with U.N. Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura meeting only with a Syrian government delegation.
A delegation of the main opposition group said it will not take part in the indirect talks until its demands are met. They include lifting the siege imposed on rebel-held areas; and, an end to Russian and Syrian bombardment of regions controlled by opposition fighters.
"It's the duty of the responsibility of members of the Security Council to put the pressure on Russia to stop these crimes in Syria," opposition spokesman Salem al-Mislet told The Associated Press on Sunday.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group that monitors both sides of the conflict through a network of activists inside Syria, said at least 47 people were killed in the explosions. The death toll was expected to rise because a number of people were seriously wounded.
An ISIS-affiliated website said the blasts were carried out by members of the extremist group, which controls large areas in both Syria and Iraq.