Two suicide bombings hit the Syrian capital Damascus on Wednesday, including an attack at a central courthouse that killed at least 32 people, as the country's war entered its seventh year. In northern Syria, 14 children were among 21 people killed in an air strike on Idlib city, a monitor said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts, the second wave of deadly attacks in the capital in less than a week, after twin bombings Saturday that killed 74 people.
Wednesday's first attack saw a suicide bomber rush inside the building and blow himself up when police tried to prevent him from entering the courthouse in the centre of Damascus, state media reported.
A police source told AFP that 32 people were killed and 100 wounded.
"I heard a commotion and looked to my left and I saw a man in a military vest," a man with a bandage over his eye told state television after the attack.
The second blast hit a restaurant in the Rabweh district in the west of the city less than two hours later, and injured 25 people, the police source said.
State media said the bomber had ducked into the restaurant after being chased by security services.
In the wake of the attacks, AFP correspondents in the city said the streets were deserted, with some roads blocked off by security services. The Britain-based group said the strikes on the city, which is controlled by jihadists and their Islamist allies, were believed to have been carried out by Russian warplanes.