Dozens killed by triple bomb attack in Syria
GENEVA – A triple bombing killed at least 50 people in a predominantly Shiite suburb south of the Syrian capital of Damascus on Sunday even as a U.N. mediator held his first meeting with members of the main opposition group that seeks progress on humanitarian issues before it will join formal talks on ending the five-year civil war.
The attacks were claimed by militants from the Islamic State group, and Syria’s delegate to the UN-sponsored peace talks said the violence confirmed the connection between “terrorism” and “some political groups” – a reference to those who oppose President Bashar Assad.
The blasts went off in the Damascus suburb of Sayyda Zeinab, about 600 yards from one of the holiest shrines for Shiite Muslims. Syria’s state news agency SANA said the attackers detonated a car bomb at a bus stop and that two suicide bombers then set off more explosives as rescuers rushed to the area.
State TV showed several burning cars and a scorched bus, as well as blown out windows, twisted metal and large holes in the facade of a nearby apartment building. The golden-domed Shiite shrine itself was not damaged.
At least 50 people were killed, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said, with more than 100 wounded.
5 killed in Detroit fire; cause of blaze unknown
NOVI, Mich. – Five adults who were co-workers at a local restaurant were killed Sunday after a fire started in the basement of a suburban Detroit home, authorities said.
The victims were found Sunday after crews extinguished the fire at a house in Novi, The Detroit News reported. Emergency personnel tried to revive two of the victims but weren’t successful.
Officials said the victims appeared to be in their late 20s and early 30s and were co-workers at an area restaurant.
The fire was reported around 9:30 a.m., and a preliminary investigation showed it started in the basement, Novi Public Safety Director David Molloy said.
Kurt Kilar and other neighbors looked on as firefighters worked to put out the blaze.
“We watched. We couldn’t do much of anything,” Kilar told the newspaper. “This is a first for us in the 18 years we’ve been here. Nothing tragic like this has ever happened in the neighborhood.”
Kilar, 51, said he didn’t know how many people lived in the house but recognized one of the victims carried out.
Autopsies were expected to be performed on the victims. The cause of the blaze was under investigation.
Witness to Turkey migrant disaster describes screams
AYVACIK, Turkey – A witness to the drowning of 37 people including babies and other young children off Turkey’s coast described the horror and screams in the moments after the boat carrying the migrants slammed into rocks, saying it was like “somebody was being murdered.”
Gulcan Durdu, who lives on the beach in the Aegean resort of Ayvacik, cried Sunday while recounting for The Associated Press the tragedy that happened at dawn the previous day.
She described being awakened by screaming and wailing after the boat struck rocks and capsized.
“I thought somebody was being murdered,” Durdu told the AP.
Durdu said that she and her husband rushed to try to help survivors and brought a boy to their home to try to warm him up.
Associated Press
