Massive Explosion Shakes Syrian Capital

[HuffingtonPost]

(Recasts with death toll)                

BEIRUT, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Five members of Syria's security  forces were killed by a car bomb in eastern Damascus on Monday,  and the blast was followed by heavy clashes between rebels and  forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, a monitoring group  said.                

The force of the explosion in the Qaboun neighbourhood shook  the Syrian capital at around 9 p.m. (1900 GMT), residents said.                

State television and the Syrian Observatory for Human  Rights, which has monitored the violence in Syria since the  uprising against Assad erupted nearly two years ago, said the  blast was caused by a car bomb.                

The Observatory said rebels were clashing with security  forces and that mortars had been fired in the area.                

Monday's blast followed a series of car bombs in the capital  on Thursday, the biggest of which killed at least 60 people in  the Mazraa district of Damascus, according to activists.     (Editing by Jon Hemming)

Via: HuffingtonPost