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| Deadly Blasts Puncture Picture of Normalcy in 2 Syrian Cities | Deadly Blasts Puncture Picture of Normalcy in 2 Syrian Cities |
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| 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. | 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 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, and a video of the aftermath posted on YouTube showed workers sweeping and hosing bloody splotches on the street. | |
| 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 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 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 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 Syrian state news media said 34 people were killed and 41 wounded in the Sweida bombing. Al Mayadeen, a Lebanese television channel sympathetic to the Syrian government, reported 35 dead — the head of the air force intelligence branch, seven air force members and 27 civilians. Such discrepancies are not uncommon in casualty reporting from Syria. | |
| 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. | 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. | 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. | 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 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 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. | 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. |
| Syrian state television reported that 34 people were killed in the Sweida bombing. Al Mayadeen, a Lebanese channel that leans toward the Syrian government, reported that the dead included the head of the air force intelligence branch there, along with 7 air force members and 27 civilians. | |
Anne Barnard reported from Beirut, and Rick Gladstone from New York. Hwaida Saad contributed reporting from Beirut. | Anne Barnard reported from Beirut, and Rick Gladstone from New York. Hwaida Saad contributed reporting from Beirut. |