Blasts In Damascus Kill At Least 45; Islamic State Claims Responsibility

“This confirms what the Syrian government has said over and over again – that there is a link between terrorism and those who sponsor terrorism from one side and some political groups that pretend to be against terrorism”, he said.

Hezbollah is a staunch ally of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad and has dispatched fighters to bolster his troops against the uprising that began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.

Representatives from the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), an umbrella group made up of Syria’s main opposition groups, arrived in Geneva, Switzerland late Saturday for talks but are now refusing to engage in formal negotiations, even indirectly, with Syrian leadership officials.

“We call on all the sides to join the work actively and to give up any preconditions in favor of searching for efficient ways of reaching political settlement in Syria”, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

Meslet added that the HNC would discuss its demands with de Mistura on Sunday, including lifting the siege on opposition-held areas, stopping the shelling and releasing detainees. At least three other representatives arrived earlier in the day from other cities, meaning that most of the members of the High Negotiations Committee – the name given to the body formed to participate in the talks – are in Geneva.

The blasts, which came as the UN’s Syria envoy struggled to convene fresh peace talks in Geneva from which IS is excluded, tore a massive crater in the road, overturning and mangling cars and a bus and shattering windows.

Speaking about the talks in Geneva, Kerry said: “I appeal to both sides to make the most of this moment, to seize the opportunity for serious negotiations, to negotiate in good faith with the goal of making concrete measurable progress in the days immediately ahead”. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for bombings that killed at least 45 people.

The UN Syria envoy said Sunday he was “optimistic and determined” following an informal meeting with the main opposition group, after it had threatened to leave before planned peace talks begin in earnest.

A website affiliated with the Islamic State group said the attacks were carried out by members of the Sunni Muslim extremist group, which controls large areas in both Syria and Iraq.

The Britain-based monitor said 47 people were killed in the blasts, including a auto bomb that targeted a checkpoint, and included non-Syrian Shiite militants without specifying their nationalities.

Amir-Abdollahian for his part reiterated Iran’s position of supporting Syrian-Syrian dialogue; “the Syrian people will have the last word about the fate of their country in the future; we should be in alert so that no terrorists return to Syrian talks, adopting a new face and thus abusing the negotiation table”, he demanded. The Syrian war, which has killed about 250,000 people and forced millions to flee their homes, has left Europe facing an escalated threat of terrorist attacks and a growing refugee problem.

He described the talks in Geneva as being at a “pivotal phase” and said the HNC represented an “inclusive opposition”.

But Sunday’s meetings were largely overshadowed by the deadly suicide bombings in the Syrian capital Damascus, later claimed by ISIL.