By The Associated Press

Published: Wednesday, November 28, 2012, 9:37 p.m.
Updated: Tuesday, February 19, 2013

DAMASCUS — Two suicide bombers detonated their explosives-packed vehicles on Wednesday near a cluster of commercial buildings in a suburb of Damascus, killing at least 34 people and covering the street with pools of blood and debris.

The latest carnage to hit an area populated by religious minorities who support President Bashar Assad further raises concerns of a growing Islamic militant element among the forces seeking to topple him.

In the country's north, rebels claimed to have shot down a Syrian air force fighter jet, providing further evidence of their growing effectiveness and improved military capabilities. It was not immediately clear how the MiG-23 was downed, although activists and the Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency said it most likely was brought down by a missile.

The morning rush-hour bombings in the suburb of Jaramana, just a few miles southeast of Damascus, were the latest to hit the overwhelmingly pro-regime town. The twin blasts appeared designed to maximize damage and casualties and bore the hallmarks of radical Muslim groups fighting alongside other rebel units in Syria.

Witnesses said the second explosion went off after people rushed in to help those wounded in the first blast, a tactic often used by al-Qaida in Iraq and elsewhere.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombings, but Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaida-inspired extremist group that has become one of Syria's most potent and organized rebel groups, has claimed numerous suicide bombings in the past, mostly targeting regime forces and security installations.

Wednesday's bombs went off in a parking lot near commercial buildings as groups of laborers and employees were arriving for work, killing 34 and wounding 83 people, state-run news agency SANA said.

The blasts sent people fleeing in panic, shattered windows and littered the streets with glass, debris and pools of blood. Several commercial buildings were damaged, and dozens of cars were reduced to smoldering wreckage.

Ismail Zlaiaa, a 54-year-old resident of the neighborhood, said the area was packed with rush-hour passengers when the suicide bombers struck.

“God will not forgive the criminal perpetrators,” he said.

Ibtissam Nseir, 45, a teacher, said the bombs exploded minutes before she set off for work. There were no troops around the district, and she wondered why the attackers would target it. She blamed the rebels.

“Is this the freedom which they want?” she asked.

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