Blasts rock Syria's 2nd largest city, Aleppo

Updated at 10:42 a.m. ET

BEIRUT - Two explosions struck security compounds in Aleppo on Friday, killing 28 people, state media reported, the first significant violence in a major city that has largely stood by Syrian President Bashar Assad in the 11-month-old uprising against his rule.

The blasts come as escalating violence between regime forces and an increasingly militarized opposition has raised fears the conflict is spiraling toward civil war.

A Syrian offensive aimed at crushing rebels in the battered city of Homs continued Friday, with soldiers who have been bombarding the city for the past six days making their first ground move to seize one of the most restive neighborhoods.

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State TV blamed "terrorists" for the blasts in Aleppo, Syria's largest city, and said they were proof the government is facing a violent enemy. Anti-Assad activists accused the regime of setting off Friday's blasts to discredit the opposition and avert protests that had been planned in the northern city on Friday.

Capt. Ammar al-Wawi of the Free Syrian Army, a rebel group that wants to bring down the regime by force, denied involvement.

"This explosion is the work of the regime to divert world attention from the crimes it is committing against the people of Homs," he said.

Along with the capital Damascus, Aleppo is Syria's economic center, home to the business community and prosperous merchant classes whose continued backing for Assad has been crucial in bolstering his regime. The city has seen only occasional protests.

Eyewitnesses tell CBS News' George Baghdadi in Damascus that the two blasts went off within moments of each other, echoing across the city.

"The walls and beds have shaken. The kids started to cry. It was really frightening," Mayada, a mother of three told CBS News via telephone.

Three earlier bombings in Damascus in December and January that killed dozens prompted similar exchanges of accusations. Nobody has claimed responsibility for any of the attacks.

Syria has banned foreign journalists from operating independently in the country, but CBS News correspondent Clarissa Ward sneaked into Syria and has been living alongside the rebel fighters as they battle Assad's forces in northern Syria - the clashes are not limited to Homs, by any means.

More reports from Clarissa Ward inside Syria:

Bloodletting underway in Syria, as rebels falter
For rebel-held Syrian towns, constant funerals
Syria's rebels: Ordinary men fight and die

Outside one of the compounds hit, the Military Intelligence Directorate, a weeping correspondent on state-run TV showed graphic footage of at least five corpses, collected in sacks and under blankets by the side of the road.

Debris filled the street and residential buildings appeared to have their windows shattered. But the location did not appear to be closed off, and local residents milled around the site with few uniformed police around.

There was no immediate sign of wounded. Earth-moving equipment was seen clearing the rubble.

The TV presenter said the blast went off near a park and claimed children were among the dead, although none were seen in the TV footage.

The second blast went off outside the headquarters of a police force in another part of the city. State television cited the Health Ministry as saying 25 people were killed in the two blasts and 175 were wounded.

Mohammed Abu-Nasr, an Aleppo-based activist, said the blasts came on a day when activists were planning wide protests in the city after the Friday prayers. He said several hundred people showed up for the protests despite the bombings in different parts of the city.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordinating Committees activist group said security forces opened fire, killing at least seven people. The figures were impossible to confirm.

So far, Assad's opponents have had little success in galvanizing support in Aleppo, in part because the business leaders have long traded political freedoms for economic privileges.

The city of around 2 million also has a large population of Kurds, who have mostly stayed on the sidelines of the uprising since Assad's regime began giving them citizenship, which they had long been denied.

Assad's crackdown has killed more than 5,400 people since the uprising began in March.

The regime's crackdown on dissent has left it almost completely isolated internationally. But Assad has political backing from Russia and China, which delivered a double veto over the weekend that blocked a U.N. resolution calling on him to leave power.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov signaled Friday that Moscow will again use its veto power at the United Nations to block any resolution aimed at ousting Assad.

"If our foreign partners don't understand that, we will have to use strong means again and again to call them back to reality," he was quoted as saying by the ITAR-Tass news agency. Moscow's stance is motivated in part by its strategic and defense ties, including weapons sales, with Syria. Russia also rejects what it sees as a world order dominated by the U.S. Last month, Russia reportedly signed a $550 million deal to sell combat jets to Syria.

The assault on Homs began last Saturday after unconfirmed reports that army defectors and other armed opponents of Assad were setting up their own checkpoints and taking control of some areas.

Hundreds of people are believed to have been killed in the past week in Homs from relentless shelling and gunfire on several rebellious neighborhoods in the city, an operation activists said aimed to soften up the areas before moving in.

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[AdrianTheKid]

This chaos is all caused because Assad is more of a psycho than Mubarak, a hard thing to accomplish. He shot at his people and now months later is still shooting and killing his people. Democratic elections should be are the only solution to syria's crisis. This has been true for at least a century...
democracychronicles.com

[Nikos_Retsos]

It seems to be the introduction of car and truck bombs, an Iraq invented mode of terrorizing resistance, into the Syrian conflict. And those types of bombs would probably increase as the bombers increase; as their expertise and success become deadlier, and as their morale of shocking the regime with destructive power is boosted.

Bashar Assad's British born wife and his children have already moved to Great Britain for their safety, and now Assad wonders where will he go - if he quits. Great Britain certainly wouldn't welcome him, and charges against him for war crimes are probably percolating at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Iran, Russia, Lebanon, and Sudan are the only possible refuges. I hope he realizes sooner rather than later that he is finished, and he would be better off resigning and allowing his vice President to form a Syrian caretaker government with the opposition.

Assad lost precious time to make timely regime changes. Now he faces an Iraqi style car-bombing insurgency. Time is up Mr. Assad! You won't survive in a country that has turned itself into "a human flesh meat grinder" to get rid of you! Nikos Retsos, retired professor

[mryoubrian]

I agree with 1 exception.....

The Syrian rebels or insurgents or whatever you want to cal them did not do this bombing. It was the Syrian gov't.. Take it from an old investigator, the "rebels" have a severe lack of all supplies including weapons, ammo, no hand grenades, no anti tank weapons, no anti aircraft weapons, etc.

Usually a suicide bombing never completely levels a building. Thousands of pictures in Iraq prove that even though they are damaging, they never take down an entire building so completely.

This bombing was done by a group that had alot of time to plant the explosives (and plant them inside), had access to the most powerful explosives, and got in and out of an area heavily populated by police and gov't officials without anyone raising an eyebrow to their presence.
Even from all of the pictures from Libya, with the most sophisticated bombs, they never completely flattened any building. Some buildings were bombed several times and were still standing.

I am not buying the suicide bombing story just yet.

[antoniof123]

mryoubrian, you let out the arms dealers they have already moved in. Once an opposition was formed they knew they could start selling. It will get a lot worst before it gets better. Assad has lost control and what is funny in the begining all he would have had to do was some minor reforms. Now that moment is gone and they want him gone.

As the terror increases both sides will realize that it is time to get rid of the real problem.

Then of course meet the new boss same as the old boss maybe worst. Take a look at Egypt.

[cheeksforus]

The people in this part of the world just seem to have so much trouble living together. What is their problem, was is the root of all this madness. Why do their leaders think they can rule by force and not by votes. What don't they get and why haven't they gotten it. They seem like caveman or something.

[Jesus_to_ground_control]

Enough is Enough!

It is time for the U.N. to stop the carnage in Syria. When innocent men,women and children are involved this is where we should draw the line. Here are some of the things that the U.N. can do:

-Start talking immediately about democratic elections;

-Do not recognize in any way or form the dictator's government;

-Name a temporary new government that will preside over the national elections;

-Protect towns and areas that are vulnerable to mass violence;

-Freeze Syrian world accounts and connections to other notorious dictators;

-Help organize the freedom movement (not only the armed services);

-Feed the people;

-Drop one million cell phones with access to the internet (and Facebook...) with twenty million batteries;

-Provide intelligence to the freedom fightes so that they can effectively counter Assad's murderous goons;

-Organize peaceful protests in every public square of the country;

-Etc. Etc.

So what is the difference between Syria and Libya? None. Let it be written in the history books that the people of Syria's cries for help were heard throughout the world, and the people of the world of all religion, ethnic and cultural differences answered the call!

[sirmarion-2009]

And again the obvious is stated,when there is a civil uprising there are casualties.So where is the Arab outrage from the bordering Muslim countries?