Car bomb kills 5 in Damascus residential area

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Syrian capital Damascus has been hit by a car-bomb attack, shattering a four-day ceasefire that had begun hours earlier to mark an Islamic holiday.

Activists said the device exploded near a playground in Daf al-Shouk, a residential area in southern Damascus, according to BBC News.

State TV reported five people had been killed and more than 30 wounded, with children among the casualties.

The UN-brokered ceasefire began at 06:00 (04:00 GMT), but fighting has continued across the country. The truce, to mark the Eid al-Adha holiday, was proposed by UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who hoped it would lead to a peace process.

Both rebels and the army had said they would only observe the truce if the other side held their fire.

By Friday evening, UK-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said 47 people had been killed throughout the country.

But the car bomb in Damascus appears to have wrecked any chance that the truce might take hold. Footage of the aftermath showed several destroyed vehicles lying among rubble from badly damaged buildings.

State media blamed the attack on terrorists. Activists said the bombing appeared to target civilians in a largely Sunni area where some have supported the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's government.

According to activists, more than 35,000 people have been killed since the uprising began, while the UN estimates that at least 20,000 have died.