BEIRUT (AP) – Twin attacks on two Syrian security offices in the central city of Homs Saturday killed at least 32 people, including a senior security official who heads the feared Military Intelligence services, state media and officials reported.
An al-Qaida-linked insurgent coalition known as the Levant Liberation Committee claimed responsibility for the attacks, which also left another high-ranking officer seriously wounded. In a statement on their Telegram channel, the group said five attackers stormed the two different security offices. The group said bombs were also detonated at checkpoints outside the buildings just as rescuers were arriving, leading to more casualties.
The governor of Homs Province, Talal Barzani, told The Associated Press there were three blasts in total, killing more than 32 people. He said the attackers were wearing suicide belts, which they detonated in the security offices. The two agencies are two kilometers (1.2 miles) apart.
Syrian State News Agency SANA said Maj. Gen Hassan Daeboul, head of the local Military Intelligence branch, was killed by one of the suicide bombers.
According to state TV and state-affiliated al-Ikhbariya TV, Brigadier Ibrahim Darwish, head of the State Security Branch, was also critically wounded in the attacks.