Two Car Bombs Rock Syria’s Daraa as Opposition Fails to Unite

Twin car bombs hit on Saturday the southern Syrian city of Daraa, killing a number of people, as the opposition failed to unite.

Syrian state news agency reported victims and damage in the area of the explosions.
“Two terrorist car bomb attacks hit Daraa city on Saturday, victims and huge material damage were reported,” SANA said without providing further details.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the blasts were minutes apart in the back garden of the club in Daraa, adding at least 20 soldiers were killed.

Meanwhile, the Local Coordination Committees announced it was quitting the Opposition Syrian National Council, which has been engaged in talks in the Qatari capital, Doha, for four days.

The SNC, once regarded as the leading representative of the opposition but now derided in Washington as dominated by out-of-touch exiles was due to give its delayed response on Saturday to proposals for a new broader-based body.

The SNC had asked for two postponements while it elected its own new leadership amid strong resistance among some members to what they see as the group’s sidelining in the new US-backed structure.

The group chose a Christian, George Sabra, as its new leader in a move seen as a response to criticism that Islamists play too dominant a role.