'Huge explosion' in Syria capital causes fatalities: monitor
Damascus, Jan 20 : A "huge explosion" near a military intelligence office in Damascus Sunday left a number of dead and wounded, a war monitor said, after state TV reported early indications suggested a "terrorist act".
"The explosion took place near a security branch in the south of the city. There are some people killed and injured but we could not verify the toll immediately," the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP.
It was unclear if the blast was caused by a bomb that was planted or a suicide attack, according to the monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside the country.
It said that shooting followed the explosion. Syrian state television earlier reported that a blast had been heard around the southern highway in Damascus.
"First reports suggest a terrorist act," the broadcaster said. The state outlet did not provide any more details on the incident.
Syria is locked in a civil war that has killed more than 360,000 people and displaced millions since a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests in 2011 spiralled into full conflict.
Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said that Sunday's blast appeared to be the first attack in Damascus in over a year.
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Flight services between Kolkata, Dubai resume partially
Kolkata (PTI): Flight services between Kolkata and Dubai resumed partially on Thursday, after a four-day suspension due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, officials said.
A flydubai aircraft from Dubai landed at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here at 2:40 am with 130 passengers on board, marking the first arrival from the Middle East after services were halted for over 113 hours, they said.
The Boeing 737 Max aircraft was scheduled to arrive at 12:25 am, Kolkata airport officials said.
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The same aircraft departed for Dubai at 3:59 am with 55 passengers, they said.
The last flight to depart for the Middle East from Kolkata before the suspension was an Emirates aircraft to Dubai on February 28, the officials said.
International services between Kolkata and cities such as Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi were disrupted, after airlines temporarily suspended operations amid escalating tensions and airspace restrictions in parts of the Middle East, due to the conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran.
There is no clear indication about when all the Middle East routes will fully reopen, they said.
