Story highlights
Rebel spokesman: The first explosion is near the airport's main door
The second is near an exterior wall, the spokesman says
It's not clear who carried out the explosions
"Many ambulances" took away the wounded, the spokesman says
Two bombs struck a large military airport outside the Syrian capital of Damascus on Sunday night, the main rebel army said, with the explosions heard throughout the city.
The first explosion was near a checkpoint near the main door of the al-Mazzeh airport, and the second was near an exterior wall, said Louay Mikdad, a spokesman for the Free Syrian Army.
It wasn’t immediately clear who was behind the blasts.
CNN’s Fred Pleitgen in Damascus saw one of the explosions and described a white flash followed by a large plume of smoke and fire.
It was not known how many people were hurt, but Mikdad said witnesses told of “many ambulances” taking away the wounded.
After the explosions, mortar bombs were fired from inside the airport into surrounding neighborhoods, Mikdad said. The targets weren’t known.
Besides the military airport, the al-Mazzeh area is home to embassies, security buildings and the homes of some members of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s inner circle, according to opposition activists.
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CNN’s Fred Pleitgen in Damascus and Samira Said in Atlanta contributed to this report.