UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday strongly condemned the terrorist bombings in Damascus Monday evening, saying that "the spiral of violence in Syria is creating a fertile ground for terrorism and criminal actions of all kinds."
"The secretary-general strongly condemns the string of coordinated terrorist bombings in Damascus last night that resulted in numerous deaths and injuries," said a statement issued here Tuesday night by Ban's spokesman.
"The secretary-general is also concerned about the fate of detainees reportedly held at the facility, where the bombings occurred," the statement said. "The secretary-general reiterates that no cause can justify terrorist attacks, wherever, whenever and by whomever they are committed."
An insurgent group that reportedly have linked to al-Qaida claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a multiple bombing by suicide attackers who struck an intelligence compound on the outskirts of Damascus overnight. It was the second major assault that the group has claimed to have carried out against a government facility in a Syrian urban center in about a week.
The group, Al Nusra Front for the People of the Levant, posted a statement on the Internet with details of what it called a three-stage attack on a compound run by a branch of the air force intelligence service in Harasta, on the edge of Damascus, reports said.
It released a video showing nighttime blasts that it said were set off by vehicles packed with explosives.
Such blasts have become increasingly common recently at a time the Syrian troops is carrying on with wide-scale offensives nationwide to root out armed insurgency that have become rampant nationwide.
"The secretary-general is extremely concerned that the spiral of violence in Syria is creating a fertile ground for terrorism and criminal actions of all kinds," the statement said. "All violence must stop."
"The secretary-general reiterates his firm conviction that resorting to violence and military means will only lead to more suffering and destruction, and that the only way out is through a political solution," the statement said.
"The secretary-general urges all sides to move toward a political transition and dialogue in Syria and to work closely with Joint Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi," it added.
Brahimi, the former Algerian foreign minister and a veteran UN official, was appointed to replace Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary-general who resigned as the joint special envoy of the UN and Arab League for Syria in August, in order to engage in good offices on the 19-month Syrian crisis.
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