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Another innocent victim of Syria's bitter civil war: Young girl lies dead among the debris as suicide blasts kill at least 40 in rebel strike at heart of Aleppo's pro-Assad district
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

Five explosions tear through pro-Assad district of Aleppo>
Government releases disturbing footage and blames 'terrorists'

Reports say more than 90 injured on top of deaths
Security forces kill three suicide bombers, according to pro-government TV

By SAM WEBB

PUBLISHED: 10:26 GMT, 3 October 2012 | UPDATED: 13:38 GMT, 3 October 2012

The lifeless body of a young girl lies in the street, an innocent victim of a series of suicide bomb attacks that have torn through the heart of the Syrian city of Aleppo.

The youngster pictured in a rubble-strewn street is one of at least 40 victims of this morning's blasts, the likes have which have so far in the conflict been confined mainly to the capital Damascus.

But in a sign of the growing intensity of the bitter conflict between rebels and government loyalists, the town's main Saadallah al-Jabari Square was rocked by four explosions this morning.

A government official blamed the 'terrorist' rebels for the coordinated assault on the square, which is controlled by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

Innocent victim: This young girl was one of those killed in a series of bombings in Aleppo, Syria

Scenes of destruction: Men stand amid wreckage after three blasts ripped through Aleppo's main square

Annihilation: Tall buildings were gutted in the blasts, which may have been car bombs.

A fifth explosion was reported only a few hundred metres away in Bab al-Jinein, near the Chamber of Commerce and an officers' club. The area is on the fringes of the Old City, where a number of running battles have been fought.

The anonymous official earlier stated that 29 people were killed and 70 injured in the explosions, but the latest report from the opposition say at least 40 are dead and more than 90 injured.

Syrian pro-government television station Al-Ikhbariya TV showed footage of massive destruction from the scene of the blasts. It described them as the work of 'terrorists', a term the government uses to describe rebels fighting to topple Assad.

The station showed footage of four dead men, including one dust-covered body being pulled from the rubble of a collapsed building and loaded onto the back of a pickup truck. It earlier said two car bombs had been used in the attack.

The station also broadcast footage of three dead men disguised as soldiers in army fatigues who it said were shot by security forces before they could detonate explosive-packed belts they were wearing. One appeared to be holding a trigger device in his hand.

Ominous: This image shows smoke rising from buildings following the explosions

Many of the buildings on the square had their facades ripped off and a crater stood in the road. 'It was like a series of earthquakes,' said one shaken resident. 'It was terrifying, terrifying.'

He added the officers' club and a hotel were almost completely destroyed. Aleppo-based activist Mohammad Saeed said the explosions went off minutes apart.

'The area is heavily fortified by security and the presence of shabiha,' he said, referring to pro-regime gunmen. 

'It makes you wonder how car bombs could reach there,' he added.

The square is in a government-controlled district in western Aleppo, Syria's largest city, which is now split in two with forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad mainly in the west and rebels in the east.

Debris: A bulldozer removes the wreckage of a building flattened by the blast. Aleppo has been the scene of fierce fighting.

Aftermath: Cars were destroyed by the chain of explosions, which are believed to have killed at least 40 people.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, said most of the casualties were members of the regime forces.

Fighting only with light weaponry, rebels have resorted to bomb attacks in areas still controlled by President Assad. Several large protests in support of the president have been held in Saadallah al-Jabari Square.

A pro-Assad Lebanese paper said on Tuesday that the president was visiting Aleppo to take a first-hand look at the fighting and had ordered 30,000 more troops into the battle. It said Assad would remain in the city.

Havoc: Civilians survey the scene of destruction. The square has been the scene of pro-Assad rallies.

Fear: Civilians preparing to flee a residential area affected by the four explosions. The Syrian government blamed 'terrorists'.

Opposition activists say 30,000 people have been killed in the 18-month-old anti-Assad uprising, which has grown into a full-scale civil war. 

For much of the revolt, Assad has retained a grip on Aleppo with many rich merchants and minority groups there, fearful of instability, remaining neutral while protests spread.

Rebels mounted a new offensive last week to seize the city, and over the weekend fires started by the combat gutted the historic market in the Old City, a world heritage site. 

One of the bombs caused a large crater in the surface of the road. The damage to the surrounding area was extensive.

Nightmarish: A body is wrapped in a cloth and loaded on a pickup truck in the wake of the explosions.

During the course of the 18-month-uprising against Assad, suicide and car bombings targeting security agencies and soldiers have become common in Syria, particularly in the capital, Damascus.

But Aleppo has been spared from such bombings and from the mayhem that struck other Syrian cities, particularly in the first year of the revolt. 

Then, in February, two suicide car bombers hit security compounds in Aleppo's industrial centre, killing 28 people.

Smoke rises over Saif Al Dawla district in Aleppo. UN chief Ban Ki-moon has made a strong appeal to Syria's foreign minister to stop using heavy weapons against civilians.

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