Twin roadside bombs in Damascus destroy bus carrying Syrian troops, kill 14, state media says

Two roadside bombs exploded on a road in Damascus during morning rush hour on Wednesday, destroying a bus carrying Syrian troops and leaving 14 people dead and others wounded, Syrian state TV said. A third bomb was reportedly found and defused. "It is a cowardly act," Damascus police commander Maj. Gen. Hussein Jumaa told state TV. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the bombing, a rare attack inside Damascus.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces now control most of Syria, after help from Russia and Iran, and a pullout of U.S. forces, allowed Assad to decimate groups of rebels and nearby civilians. The conflict, sparked by a brutal government crackdown on protesters in 2011, has left more than 350,000 Syrians dead, while five million refugees fled the country.

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