Blasts kill 27 in Syria capital

All our windows and doors are blown out, said Majed Seibiyah,29,who lives in the area. I was sleeping when I heard a sound like an earthquake. I didnt grasp what was happening until I hear screaming in the street.

A third blast was also reported,at a refugee camp housing thousands of Palestinians in Damascus,but the two bombers were the only casualties,SANA said.

The blasts were the latest in a string of mysterious,large-scale attacks targeting the Syrian regimes military and security installations. The previous blasts,all suicide bombings,killed dozens of people since December,even as the regime wages a bloody crackdown against the year-old uprising against President Bashar Assad.

The government has blamed the explosions on the terrorists that it claims are behind the revolt. The opposition has denied any role,saying they believe forces loyal to the government are behind the bombings,to tarnish the uprising.

However,top US intelligence officials also have pointed to al-Qaeda in Iraq as the likely culprit behind the previous bombings,raising the possibility its fighters are infiltrating across the border to take advantage of the turmoil. Al-Qaedas leader called for Assads ouster in February.

A suspected al-Qaeda presence creates new obstacles for the US,its Western allies and Arab states trying to figure out a way to help push Assad from power,and may also rally Syrian religious minorities,fearful of Sunni radicalism,to get behind the regime.

Bassma Kodmani,a member of the opposition Syrian National Council,said she doubted armed groups trying to bring Assad down,such as the rebel Free Syrian Army,have the capacity to carry out such attacks on the capitals security institutions. I dont think any of the opposition forces have the capacity to do such an operation to target these buildings because they are fortresses, she said. They are very well-guarded. There is no way anyone can penetrate them without having strong support and complicity from inside the security apparatus.

According to SANA,preliminary information indicated two blasts were caused by car bombs that hit the aviation intelligence department and the criminal security department at 7:30 am local time. Shooting broke out soon after and sent people fleeing,an Associated Press reporter at the scene said.

The Syrian government denies there is a popular will behind the uprising,saying foreign extremists and gangs are trying to destroy the country. However,Assads opponents deny that and say an increasingly active rebel force has been driven to take up arms because the government used tanks,snipers and machine guns to crush peaceful protests.