Syria car bomb attack kills at least 13

Ten policemen and a child among victims of attack in town near Damascus

A Free Syrian Army fighter throws a homemade bomb towards forces loyal to Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad as fellow fighters watch in Deir al-Zor yesterday. Photograph: Khalil Ashawi/Reuters
A Free Syrian Army fighter throws a homemade bomb towards forces loyal to Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad as fellow fighters watch in Deir al-Zor yesterday. Photograph: Khalil Ashawi/Reuters

At least 13 people, including 10 policemen, were killed when a car bomb exploded north of the Syrian capital Damascus, activists said today.

The Britain-based Observatory for Human Rights said the blast struck overnight near the police headquarters in the town of Deir Atiyeh.

The observatory said a child was among the three civilians killed.

Syria’s state news agency confirmed the attack. It said a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden car in a residential area of the town, causing an unknown number of casualties.

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The agency said “terrorists” were behind the attack - a government term for rebels fighting to topple Syrian president Bashar Assad’s regime.

AP