JNN 04 Nov 2012 Damascus : Eleven citizens were martyred while many others were injured, including a number of children, in a blast of an explosive device in al-Sayyeda Zainab area in Damascus Countryside on Wednesday.

A source in Damascus Countryside Police Command told SANA reporter that an armed terrorist group detonated an explosive device inside a garbage bag in a crowded street in al-Sayyeda Zainab area.

“The explosion occurred just east of the shrine. Lots of people are also wounded,” said one of the activists in the area, who declined to be named.

“Security personnel have swarmed the area. It is not clear whether the target was the shrine or a security compounding adjacent to it,” he added. Groups opposed to President Bashar al-Assad say seven people died in the blast.

The poor neighbourhood, inhabited by a mix of Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims, is marked by the coloured tile and mirror shrine, located near several security compounds, as well as an office for Shi’ite Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

A source at al-Sadr Hospital in al-Sayyeda Zainab area said that the hospital received the bodies of seven martyrs and 25 injured citizens, some of them suffer from serious injuries.

He added that the hospital has provided necessary treatment to the injured.

A source at al-Mowasat Hospital said that the bodies of four martyrs were admitted to the hospital and five citizens who were injured in an explosive device blast in al-Sayyeda Zainab area also arrived in the hospital to be treated.

Meanwhile, a source at Damascus Hospital stressed that nine injured persons were admitted to the hospital, adding that some injury cases are critical.

Concern among Shi’ites and moderate Sunnis have been rising that Wahabis could target the shrine for Zainab, the Prophets’ granddaughter and daughter of the first Imam Ali,a.s who is is the first among the chain of by Shi’ites.

In a relevant context, the Police Command in Damascus Countryside reported that a car bomb exploded in the Main Street in Muaadamiyet al-Sham area, several causalities were reported.

An official source told SANA reporter that a number of citizens were martyred while others were injured in a terrorist mortar attack against a residential building in Ghurbeh Neighborhood in al-Sayyeda Zainab area.

Ahl ul Bayt World Assembly strongly condemn the attack near Shrine of Sayedah Zainab on October 31, 2012.

Several people have been killed and many others wounded after a bomb went off in central Syria as clashes continue between foreign-sponsored insurgents and government forces. 

The blast took place in the city of Hama, located 213 kilometers (132 miles) north of Damascus, on Thursday, Syria’s state-run TV reported.

Earlier in the day, a number of armed men were killed during intense clashes with Syrian troops in the city. The insurgents were planning to attack al-Jeed, al-Aziziyeh and Jisr beit al-Raas villages in al-Ghab area of Hama province.

In addition, Syrian soldiers launched an offensive against insurgents near Kherbet al-Masasneh village on Thursday, killing scores of them.

The Syrian Army also seized a large amount of weapons, and destroyed a car used by insurgents in the process.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011. Many people, including large numbers of army and security personnel, have been killed in the turmoil.

The Syrian government says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the insurgents are foreign nationals.