DAMASCUS, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The twin bombings that rocked the capital Damascus on Wednesday have killed 43 people and wounded 129 others, a well-informed security source told Xinhua.
The first explosion happened when a suicide bomber detonated his bomb vest inside the Justice Palace, or the Courthouse, in central Damascus Wednesday afternoon, leaving 43 people killed and 105 others wounded, the source told Xinhua, on condition of anonymity.
The bomber was among the people who were waiting for checking to enter the building at noontime on Wednesday.
He was in camouflaged uniform, holding a rifle and a hand grenade. Once he handed over his weapons to the checkpoint police, he was asked for further inspection. He thronged the checkpoint and entered the main hall of the Justice Palace, detonating a bomb vest he was wearing.
The bombing happened at the time of rush hour in the courthouse, causing the largest possible deaths.
An hour later, crackles of gunshots were heard in the resort area of Rabweh, west of Damascus, in what later appeared to be the Syrian police haunting down a bomber with an explosive belt. The bomber entered a restaurant in that area, detonating it, and wounding 24 people.
At the restaurant, people were about to celebrate the birthday of one of their friends, but the party was turned upside down, due to the bombing.
The blasts are the latest in a series of bombings that have sparked recently, following a long time of lull.
On Saturday, the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front carried out a suicide bombing in Damascus, killing 74 people, including Iraqi Shiite visitors, who were in Damascus on a pilgrim visit.
