Fresh blast hits Syria

Another car bomb exploded Saturday in Damascus at the Yarmouk camp housing thousands of Palestinians in south of the city. SANA said two "terrorists" were killed when their bomb-laden car exploded at the camp, while the Doha-based al-Jazeera TV quoted sources as saying that a brigadier of the Syrian army was targeted in the blast and was killed along with three Palestinians.

On Sunday, hundreds of Syrians attended a funeral procession for the 29 people killed the day before. Carrying coffins on their shoulders or waving national flags and posters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad before the funeral prayers at al-Othman Mosque in Damascus, the mourners chanted pro-government slogans.

Before the prayers, thousands of Syrians gathered at the site of the explosion that targeted the aviation intelligence department at the Christian-inhabited district of Qassaa, where they marched quietly and prayed for the souls of those who were killed.

Sunday's blast is the fourth in Syria since the unrest erupted one year ago. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the explosions, while the Syrian accused al-Qaida fighters of being behind the blasts.

In another blast on Sunday, an "armed terrorist group" blew up a bridge on the Damascus-Daraa highway, fully destroying it, according to SANA.

Quoting experts, the state news agency said the explosives used in this "sabotaging" act weighed around 700 kg to 1,000 kg, adding that the material losses were estimated at around 30 million Syrian pounds.

Earlier in the day, the authorities found big amounts of ammunition and explosives in the Kherbet al-Jowz and Ein al-Baida villages of Idlib province at borders with Turkey when they were chasing terrorist members, SANA said.

As the violence rages on, UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's team will arrive in Damascus Monday to discuss setting up an international monitoring mission for Syria.

The United Nations said recently that more than 8,000 people were killed during the one-year-long crisis in Syria. The Syrian government said in December 2011 that more than 2,000 army and security personnel were killed.

People gather at the site of an explosion of a bomb car that went off behind a security office in Aleppo city March 18, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]