Syria reels from another day of violence

There have been reports of several rocket attacks in the Syrian city of Aleppo tonight, writes James Blake. Opposition activists say that homes have been destroyed and families buried under the rubble.

It is not yet known how many people have died in the attacks – or whether they came from President Assad’s forces or other militia groups.

But it comes a day after one of the bloodiest days since the civil war in Syria began almost two years ago.

One car bomb alone killed an estimated 60 people in Damascus. It exploded at a checkpoint near the ruling Ba’ath party headquarters in the Mazraa district of the capital.

Elsewhere in the city there were three other co-ordinated attacks. And across Syria there were other blasts too: Daraa and Aleppo were also hit.

It is thought the total number of dead in yesterday’s attacks has now reached more than 290. Those figures have not been confirmed – but they come from the Syrian Observatory on Human Rights, which pulls together witness accounts from inside the country.

Double standards

Today the foreign ministers of China and Russia – both traditionally supporters of President al-Assad – joined forces again to accuse America of double standards as it blocked a UN resolution condemning the bombs.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavov said: “It’s not the first time that our American partners in the security council have refused to unequivocally condemn a terrorist act in Syria, trying to find wording that would justify, directly or indirectly, those who resort to such methods to fight against the regime”.

The Assad regime has been quick to blame jihadist militia – most notably the Jabhat Al-Nursa group – for the attacks in Damascus.

Today a propaganda video released by al-Nursa emerged which apparently shows their bombing campaign inside Syria. But the group have not yet said they carried out yesterday’s attacks.