Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

34 Syrians Killed, 50 Injured in Hama Car Bombing

June 20, 2014

Blast kills 34 in Syria's Hama

DAMASCUS, June 20, 2014 (Xinhua) --

At least 34 people were killed and over 50 others wounded in a blast that rocked the central province of Hama in Syria on Friday, the state news agency SANA said.

The blast was carried out by a booby-trapped car that tore through the al-Hurra town in al-Ghab area in the countryside of Hama, according to SANA.

Further details about the deadly explosion are still forthcoming.

Blasts have become increasingly common in Syria, which has been gripped by more than a three-year-old crisis that has killed more than 100,000 people and displaced million of others. 

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Car bomb in Syria's Hama province kills 34: state news

BEIRUT Fri Jun 20, 2014 5:36am EDT

(Reuters) -

A car bomb in Syria's western Hama province killed 34 and wounded more than 50, Syria's state news agency SANA said on Friday, blaming the attack on rebels fighting forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

It was not immediately clear if the attack was in any way related to the militant Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which is very active in Syria and has seized vast tracts of territory across the border in Iraq.

Nusra Front, which is linked to al Qaeda and has been fighting rival group ISIL, is thought to have been behind several bomb attacks in Hama in recent months.   

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an anti-Assad monitoring group, said 38 were killed and more than 40 wounded in the blast which took place in Hurra, an Alawite village close to the city of Hama. Assad is from Syria's Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.

It said a suicide bomber in a truck had detonated himself, killing mainly civilians, including women and children.

It said there were overnight clashes between government forces and Islamist fighters in the province, as well as bombings by the Syrian army.

SANA described the car bomb as a "terrorist" attack, wording it uses to refer to rebel fighters.

The agency said the Syrian army had also carried out a campaign to eliminate "terrorists" in a number of villages in the Homs province to the south of Hama.

Syria's conflict began in March 2011 as peaceful protests but has turned into civil war, killing at least 160,000 people.

Rebels have been joined by hardline Islamists, some of them linked to al Qaeda, who have become increasingly powerful among opposition forces.

In the northern city of Aleppo, Syrian air forces dropped two barrel bombs on the outskirts of the Ashrafiyeh neighbourhood, the Observatory said, adding that there were no details on casualties.

(Reporting by Sylvia Westall; Editing by Alison Williams)

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Car bombing in central Syria kills 34, reports say

DAMASCUS, Syria –  

A powerful car bombing on Friday in a government-held village in central Syria killed at least 34 civilians and wounded more than 50 others, Syria's state-run news agency and an opposition activist group said.

SANA said the explosion went off in Horrah village in the countryside near the central city of Hama. It did not immediately provide further information on the attack or say what the target was.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which documents the violence in Syria through an extensive network of activists on the ground, said at least 37 people were killed and more than 40 others wounded in the bombing. In a statement, it said the toll was likely to rise because many of the wounded were in critical condition.

Car bombs are common in Syria's civil war, now in its fourth year. The conflict has killed more than 160,000 people according to opposition activists. Nearly a third of the victims were civilians.

On Thursday evening, a car bomb exploded near a school in the pro-government Nazha district of the central city of Homs, killing three people and wounding nine, Syrian state media said.

The Syrian conflict started in March 2011 with Arab Spring inspired protests against President Bashar Assad's rule and evolved into a civil war with sectarian overtones and Islamic extremists.

Foreign fighters and Syrian rebels who have taken up hard-line al-Qaida-style ideologies have played an increasingly powerful role among fighters, dampening the West's support for the rebellion to overthrow Assad.

The militants frequently carry out bombings in government-controlled areas, including suicide operations, some of which have targeted military installations.