Syrian rebel group claims responsibility for Damascus blast

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BEIRUT -– A Syrian rebel group claimed responsibility for the detonation of explosives in a military judiciary building Thursday night that rocked Damascus, the capital.

The explosion, which occurred near Ummayed Square, targeted a meeting of judges and military officers who oversee the military court that tries and sentences opposition members or those accused of supporting the opposition, said a spokesman for the Ahfad Rasul brigade, which said it carried out the attack.

“They don’t hand down any sentence other than execution,” said the spokesman, Nabil Amir.

Information on casualties and damages was not immediately available.

A statement released by the group said the attack was in response to the massacres the regime has been committing against the Syrian people. The building “has been turned into a slaughterhouse for the activists and detainees.”

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-- From a Times Staff Writer