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© AFP Syrian state TV shows people carrying a body from the site of a 'suicide attack' outside a security service base in Damascus.
Suicide bombers have hit two security service bases in Damascus, killing many civilians and some soldiers.

"Several soldiers and a large number of civilians were killed in the two attacks carried out by suicide bombers in vehicles packed with explosives against bases of state security and another branch of the security services," state television said tonight.

A Syrian official said the death toll was over 30.

"Initial inquiries hold al-Qa'ida responsible," the television added.

Witnesses said the bombers struck in the Kfar Suseh neighbourhood of the city. A car tried to ram its way into a state security compound, while another car exploded in front of a security service building in the same area.

The blasts came as an advance team was in Damascus to prepare the logistics for an Arab League observer mission intended to oversee a plan to end nine months of unrest that has killed more than 5000 people, according to the United Nations.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem has said he expects the observers to vindicate his government's contention that the unrest is the work of "armed terrorists", not overwhelmingly peaceful protesters as maintained by Western governments and human rights watchdogs.

A Britain-based rights group also reported Friday's blasts.

"Two blasts just rocked the Syrian capital Damascus, followed by the sound of heavy shooting in the vicinity of the general intelligence headquarters," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Source: Agence France-Presse