4 killed, several injured in 3 bombings in Syrian capital

At least four people, including a child, have been killed and several others injured in three separate bombings in the Syrian capital.

On Wednesday, a booby-trapped bicycle exploded behind the al-Akram Mosque in the al-Mazzeh neighborhood in Damascus, killing at least two people and injuring two others, the official SANA news agency reported.

However, Xinhua put the number of those injured by the attack at 10.

Earlier on Wednesday, two people, including a 10-year-old boy, were killed and 28 others were injured after two bombs went off in Khaled Ibn al-Walid Street and the nearby Bab Msalla Square.

The bomb in Bab Msalla had been planted on a bicycle while the one in Khaled Ibn al-Walid Street had been planted in front of a store.

The explosions also damaged stores and restaurants in the two areas.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011. Many people, including large numbers of Syrian army and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

The Syrian government says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.

Damascus says the West and its regional allies, such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, are supporting the militants.

In an interview recently broadcast on Turkish television, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that if the militants take power in Syria, they could destabilize the entire Middle East region for decades.

“If the unrest in Syria leads to the partitioning of the country, or if the terrorist forces take control… the situation will inevitably spill over into neighboring countries and create a domino effect throughout the Middle East and beyond,” he stated.