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Summary Syrian warplanes launched 60 airstrikes against rebel targets around the country.
Syrian warplanes launched 60 airstrikes against rebel targets around the country on Monday and conducted what activists said were the most intense air raids on the suburbs of Damascus since the uprising began 19 months ago.A government official said a car bomb killed 10 people on the outskirts of the city. TV footage showed firemen fighting the blaze amid wide destruction after parts of balconies fell on cars parked on a residential street. As smoke billowed, a woman was seen running away with children from the area of the blast and electricity cables dangled from poles. Activists said the air raids were launched both before and after the car bomb and were still under way.Monday was supposed to be the fourth and final day of a U.N.-backed cease-fire to coincide with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, one of the holiest periods on the Muslim calendar. But the truce was violated almost as soon as it was supposed to take effect on Friday and violence continued unabated over the holiday weekend. Activists said at least 150 people were killed Sunday, a toll similar to previous daily casualty tolls.The army warned late Sunday night that it will strike remnants of terrorists with an iron fist after they repeatedly violated the cease-fire. The regime of President Bashar Assad often refers to those waging the uprising as terrorists.Mohammed Saeed, an activist based in the Damascus suburb of Douma, said there were at least 15 air raids on the suburbs early Monday. The Britain-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said warplanes carried out at least six air raids on Damascus suburbs including Rankous and Harasta. It said there are intense clashes in those areas as troops try to regain control from the rebels.Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the Observatory, said airstrikes on Monday were by far higher than on any other day since the conflict began in March last year.He estimated there were more than 60 airstrikes nationwide by early afternoon Monday.Members of the Free Syrian Army are shooting at the planes without succeeding in shooting them down, said Saeed referring to the main rebel group fighting Assads forces. The air raids today are unusual in their intensity, although we have seen worse days.A Syrian official said the car bomb in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana also wounded 41 people and heavily damaged shops and apartments in the area heavily inhabited by Christians and members of the Druse minority sect.The Observatory also reported clashes and shelling in other parts of the country including the northwestern province of Idlib that borders Turkey, where it said warplanes carried out 11 air raids on several villages. Amateur videos showed warplanes in the skies, then giant mushroom clouds of smoke after the missiles hit.
