A Crater Left by a Suicide Bomber in Aleppo

In one of the more powerful testaments to the destructive power of suicide bombings, Syria's state news agency released the above photo from an attack in Syria's second city Aleppo today.

In one of the more powerful testaments to the destructive power of suicide bombings, Syria's state news agency released the above photo from an attack in Syria's second city Aleppo today. Both government officials and rebels agree the explosion was caused by a car bomb, but neither side agrees on who carried out the deadly attack.  The image above captures just one of four explosions that ripped off the faces of two buildings today and killed more than 40 people near two government-controlled hotels housing militiamen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.  The New York Times' Ann Barnard captures the he-said, she-said:

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombings, which came after several days of heated battles in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city. But the government blamed its opponents. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is based in Britain and relies on a network of observers inside Syria, said most of the dead were from the security forces and that the explosions went off after clashes between gunmen and guards at the officers’ club. Citing medical sources, the observatory said 90 people were wounded.

Below, the AP has uploaded raw footage covering the wreckage of the attack: