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.jpg) Two suicide bombers hit a central Damascus square during rush hour on Tuesday, killing at least 14 people, the Syrian state media reported.
One of the explosions took place inside the police station there and that many among the dead were policemen, The Associated Press reported.
The blasts were the first major attack in the Syrian capital since the government recaptured the strategic town of Qusayr, held by the rebels for over a year.
The government is believed to be building on its victory there to clear rebels from areas they held in the center of Syria, a linchpin area linking Damascus with the government strongholds on the Mediterranean coast.
A security official quoted by state TV said two "terrorist" suicide bombers struck near a police station in the bustling Marjeh Square in the heart of the capital. He said 14 were killed and another 31 were wounded.
Suicide and car bombs have become common in Damascus. Some of the deadliest attacks targeting security installations have been claimed by the al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra — one of scores of rebel factions fighting the forces of President Bashar al-Assad.
The Syrian state-TV Ikhbariya showed footage from the explosion scene of broken shop facades, with blood splattered on the pavements and inside shops. Footage also showed mangled cars in the central square as ambulance workers were seen carrying the wounded on stretchers.
Last week, Syrian troops established control over Qusayr following weeks of heavy clashes with foreign-backed militants. Syrian troops were backed by forces from the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah during the Qusayr operation.
The Syrian Army is now in control of most of the towns and villages near the border with Lebanon.
There have been reports of heavy clashes between government forces and militants in Aleppo, Lattakia, Idlib, Deir Ezzor and several Damascus suburbs.
The Syria crisis began in March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of government forces, have been killed.
Damascus says the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.
The Syrian government says the West and its regional allies, such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, are supporting the militants.
In addition, several international human rights organizations say the militants operating in Syria have committed war crimes.
Photo: Syrian army soldiers stand guard at a scene of two explosions in the central district of Marjeh, Damascus, Syria, June 11, 2013.
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