SUMMARY: Footage from Thursday shows a large explosion, which the video text says is from a car exploding at the Awad Al Hallel checkpoint in Daraa. Wikimapia places the checkpoint west of Daraa city.
The brigades named as involved in the attack are Liwa Tawheed and Kataib Eatesam.
State media reports that one person was killed and 40 injured by a car bomb near a major roundabout in Homs.
In Video Message, Russian Kidnapped In Syria Demands Swap For Detained Saudi
A video message purportedly from a Russian kidnapped in Syria has been posted to YouTube, in which a bearded man identifying himself as Sergei Nikolaevich Gorbunov says that he will be executed in five days unless a Saudi national is released.
The man in the video — who reads his message in a halting, trembling voice — says that he is being treated well but that he fears execution, and appeals to Moscow and to the Red Cross to help him.
The man says he was abducted by the military airport near Hama.
Russian news agency RIA Novosti reports on Thursday that the video is being verified by the Russian Foreign Ministry and by the Russian Embassy in Damascus.
Damascus Suffers Power Cuts Amid Insurgent Attacks
Parts of Syria’s capital Damascus are were without power on Wednesday after an explosion in a gas pipeline near the Damascus International Airport.
The Shaam News Network’s correspondent in Damascus reported that the gas pipeline supplied the Tishreen power station near the International Airport. As a result of the explosion, electricity supplies were disconnected across Damascus and the surrounding areas.
Electricity Minister Imad Khamis promised to fully restore electricity supplies “within 48 hours”. He claimed a “terrorist attack” had disrupted the pipelines.
Video of the pipeline on fire after one of the blasts:
State media said four people were killed and 18 injured by insurgent mortar fire on the al-Abassiyeen section of Damascus.
Al-Abassiyeen has been repeatedly targeted by opposition fighters. The regime attempt to halt the attacks has been one motive for their offensive in the Damascus suburbs, including the chemical weapons attacks of August 21.
Medical Supplies From Turkish Red Crescent Reach Raqqa
Footage from Wednesday shows medical supplies from the Turkish Red Crescent delivered to Raqqa.
Regime Bombardment of Moadamiyyat Ash Sham Continues Amid Attempted Ground Invasions
Regime forces continued to bombard residential districts of the West Ghouta town of Moadamiyyat Ash Sham on Thursday, as ground troops attempt to break through the town’s northern front.
Casualties
The Local Coordination Committees claim 82 people were killed on Wednesday, including 27 in Aleppo Province, 18 in Damascus and its suburbs, and 15 in Homs Province.
The Violations Documentation Center records that 76,523 people have been killed since the start of the conflict in March 2011, an increase of 103 since Wednesday. Of the dead, 56,952 are civilians, a rise of 71 from yesterday.
