'Syrian air strike hits petrol station, killing 30'

Activists say some 30 civilians were killed when Syrian warplanes bombed a petrol station in a rebel controlled suburb in Damascus.

Smoke is seen rising over Damascus 370 (R) (photo credit: REUTERS)
Smoke is seen rising over Damascus 370 (R)
(photo credit: REUTERS)
AMMAN - At least 30 civilians were killed on Wednesday when Syrian warplanes bombed a petrol station in a rebellious suburb on the eastern edge of Damascus, two opposition campaigners on the scene said.
"I counted at least 30 bodies. They were either burnt or dismembered," said Abu Saeed, an activist who arrived at the area in the Muleiha suburb of Damascus an hour after the raid occurred at 1:00 p.m.
Another activist, Abu Fouad, said warplanes had bombarded the area as a consignment of fuel arrived and crowds packed the station.
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Video footage taken by activists, which could not be independently verified, showed a body of a man a helmet on a motorcycle amid flames that had engulfed the site, apparently hit while in a line of vehicles waiting for petrol. A man was also shown carrying a dismembered body.
Muleiha is one of a series of Sunni Muslim suburbs ringing the capital that have been at the forefront of the 21 month revolt against the rule of President Bashar Assad, who belongs to the Shi'ite-derived Alawite minority sect.
Government forces control the center of Damascus and have been pounding the suburbs from the air.