Damascus-area Car Bomb Kills at least 40

At least 40 Syrians died on Friday when a car bomb exploded outside a mosque in Suq Wadi Barada, near Damascus, in the latest carnage of the Syrian civil war. The area targeted is held by rebel forces but surrounded by troops loyal to the Assad regime. Both sides are blaming the other for the blood bath. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the blast occurred as prayers were concluding on Friday and that more deaths are expected because of the severity of the injuries to many victims. The Observatory reported that at least 7 children were among the dead.