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Deadly Blast Punctures Picture of Normalcy in Damascus Deadly Blasts Puncture Picture of Normalcy in 2 Syrian Cities
(about 3 hours later)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — A bomb in the heart of Damascus, the Syrian capital, killed at least eight people and wounded 50 on Wednesday, the Syrian state news media reported, a reminder that the civil war that has ravaged vast swaths of the country frequently punctures the image of normalcy in Damascus that the government seeks to project. BEIRUT, Lebanon — Deadly bombings hit the landmark Hijaz train station in the heart of Damascus and a military intelligence office in what had been a largely peaceful southeast Syrian city on Wednesday, the Syrian state news media reported, reminders that the civil war that has ravaged vast sections of the country can hit hard and without warning in areas where life remains relatively normal.
SANA, the official news agency, said that women and children were among the victims of the blast, which it said was caused by an explosive device planted in an office entrance in the Hijaz Square neighborhood. Antigovernment activist groups said the blast might have been caused by a mortar shell. It happened a day after a mortar shell hit the roof of a building that houses the Vatican Embassy in Damascus. SANA, the official news agency of Syria, said that women and children were among the 8 dead and 50 wounded in the Damascus blast, which the agency said had been caused by an explosive device planted near the entrance to the Hijaz train station, a graceful Ottoman-era structure that now houses the national railway authority. Other news accounts said the explosion shattered part of the station’s roof and the windows of nearby buildings.
Antigovernment activist groups reported other civil war mayhem on Wednesday, including a large explosion caused by a car bomb at the air force intelligence office in Sweida, a Druse city near the Jordan border, and the desecration of a famous statue in Raqqa, in northeast Syria, by extremist fighters affiliated with Al Qaeda. The bombing in Damascus came a day after a mortar shell hit the roof of the building that houses the Vatican’s Embassy there, underscoring the dangers that pervade routine life in the Syrian capital amid the ravages of a civil war that began more than two and a half years ago.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group with a network of contacts in Syria, said ambulances were seen heading to the site of the explosion in Sweida. The second bombing was in Sweida, a southern city mostly populated by the Druse, a small sect that has largely stayed out of the war, which had helped spare the city from violence. The bombing targeted the air force intelligence branch facility there, the Syrian state news media and antigovernment activists reported.
The group said the Raqqa vandals, members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria — a Qaeda affiliate that is exploiting the chaos in Syria for its own agenda — decapitated a statue that depicts male and female peasants and is known among residents as the Statue of Liberty. Raqqa is the only provincial capital in Syria that is under insurgent control. The official Syrian accounts did not report the number of casualties, but Lebanon’s national broadcaster said the Sweida blast was a suicide attack that killed the branch chief, his deputy and 10 others.
The Damascus bombing added to the many historical landmarks damaged in the violence. The Hijaz train station, which briefly served as the city’s main railway terminus and the departure point for journeys as far as Mecca in Saudi Arabia, has long drawn tourists with its towering stained-glass windows and museum of railway history.
On a recent visit, it was deserted except for glum employees. Its main hall displayed an exhibit of photographs of railroad stations and trains destroyed in the fighting, which has forced the closure of Syria’s railway system and halted an ambitious project to reconnect the structure to the train lines and allow passengers to ride into downtown Damascus.
Antigovernment activist groups reported other civil war mayhem on Wednesday including the desecration of a famous statue in Raqqa, in northeast Syria, by extremist fighters affiliated with Al Qaeda.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group based in Britain with a network of contacts inside Syria, said the Raqqa vandals, members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, decapitated a statue that depicts male and female peasants and is known among residents as the Statue of Liberty. Raqqa is the only provincial capital in Syria that is under insurgent control.
The violence came a day after diplomats from the United Nations, the United States and Russia failed to set a date for a peace conference during a meeting in Geneva. Lakhdar Brahimi, the special United Nations envoy for Syria, said there would be no peace conference this month, as Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had originally hoped.The violence came a day after diplomats from the United Nations, the United States and Russia failed to set a date for a peace conference during a meeting in Geneva. Lakhdar Brahimi, the special United Nations envoy for Syria, said there would be no peace conference this month, as Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had originally hoped.
Mr. Brahimi and other diplomats in Geneva still held out the hope of convening a peace conference this year, but acknowledged that the difficulties of negotiating the basic parameters might cause further delays.Mr. Brahimi and other diplomats in Geneva still held out the hope of convening a peace conference this year, but acknowledged that the difficulties of negotiating the basic parameters might cause further delays.
The diplomats were unable to agree on which countries would attend such a conference, who would represent the fractious opposition and what role, if any, President Bashar al-Assad of Syria would play in any transitional government.The diplomats were unable to agree on which countries would attend such a conference, who would represent the fractious opposition and what role, if any, President Bashar al-Assad of Syria would play in any transitional government.
The Syria conflict began in March 2011 as a peaceful uprising against Mr. Assad, which his forces sought to brutally suppress. The conflict evolved into a civil war pitting a mostly Sunni rebellion against Mr. Assad’s ruling Alawites, who practice an offshoot of Shiism. The conflict has left more than 110,000 dead and more than nine million people uprooted, either as refugees in neighboring countries or displaced within Syria. The Syria conflict began in March 2011 as a largely peaceful uprising against Mr. Assad, which his forces sought to brutally suppress, and evolved into a civil war. The conflict has left more than 110,000 dead and more than nine million people uprooted, either as refugees in neighboring countries or displaced within Syria.

Anne Barnard reported from Beirut, and Rick Gladstone from New York.

Anne Barnard reported from Beirut, and Rick Gladstone from New York. Hwaida Saad contributed reporting from Beirut.