AMMAN (Reuters) - At least 11 people were killed and 40 wounded when a car bomb exploded on Thursday at a petrol station in the Syrian capital Damascus, opposition activists said.
The petrol station was packed with people queuing for fuel that has become increasingly scarce during the country's 21-month-long civil war, the activists said.
The bombing took place in the Barzeh al-Balad district, whose residents include a mix of majority Sunni Muslims and several other religious and ethnic minorities.
The semi-official al-Ikhbariya television showed footage of 10 burnt bodies and Red Crescent workers searching for victims at the site.
The opposition Revolution leadership Council in Damascus said the explosion was caused by a "a booby-trapped car". There was no immediate indication of who may have been responsible.
An activist who lives in the area said he saw ambulances loading burnt bodies and wounded people with severe burns before he was ordered away by security forces surrounding the station. Tow trucks removed destroyed vehicles, he added.
"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," said the activist, who did not want to be named.
He said brawls have increased lately at the petrol station between militia loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and ordinary citizens waiting for fuel, but it was not known who carried out the attack.
(Reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis, Amman newsroom; Editing by Michael Roddy)
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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