Syria petrol station hit by deadly car bomb
At least nine people have been killed by a car bomb at a petrol station in the Syrian capital, Damascus, say activists.
The bomb reportedly hit the Barzeh al-Balad district, as large numbers of people were queuing for fuel.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights activist group said the death toll in Thursday's was likely to rise.
The bombing comes a day after dozens of people were killed in an air strike on a petrol station south of the city.
Syria is in the grip of chronic fuel shortages, and motorists often wait for hours in queues at petrol stations.
'Shocking' figures
The opposition Revolution Leadership Council in Damascus said Thursday's explosion had been caused by a "a booby-trapped car", Reuters reported.
One local activist told the agency he saw ambulances taking away people with severe burns.
"The station is usually packed even when it has no fuel. There are lots of people who sleep there overnight, waiting for early morning fuel consignments," he said.
On Wednesday, the UN's Human Rights Council said a new study suggested more than 60,000 people had died since the start of the unrest in Syria in March 2011, many more than activists have claimed.
UN rights chief Navi Pillay said the number of casualties was "truly shocking".
activists in Syria say nine or more people have died as the result of a car bomb explosion at a fuel station in the Barzeh al-Balad district of Damascus, the capital of the country, according to ''BBC News Online''. News agency ''Reuters'' has placed the minimum death toll at eleven while also reporting at least forty injuries. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights believes an increase in the number of fatalities recorded is probable.

At the time of the incident, a large number of people were waiting at the station to collect petrol. Activists say Syria is short of petrol because of the ongoing , which started during 2011. ''BBC News Online'' says drivers queueing at fuel stations for hours is a frequent occurrence in the country.

An unidentified activist told ''Reuters'' the fuel station was "usually packed even when it has no fuel. There are lots of people who sleep there overnight, waiting for early morning fuel consignments". The same person reported witnessing the bodies of burned people being placed onto ambulances, as well as those with wounds and severe burns, and vehicles the blast had destroyed being towed away. The activist, a local resident, said security workers at the station then told him to leave the scene.

The Revolution Leadership Council, which is part of the Syrian opposition, cited "a booby-trapped car" as the source of the explosion. It is unclear at this stage as to who was responsible for the incident, although the local activist who spoke to ''Reuters'' said there had been increased conflict between civilians and militia supportive of  Syrian  Bashar al-Assad at fuel stations recently.


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