Shock, fear in Syrian government bastions after bombings

BEIRUT (AP) — Convoys of coffins streamed through the streets and mourners fired guns in the air Tuesday as two Syrian coastal towns — government strongholds that had gone relatively untouched throughout the civil war — reeled from coordinated bombings that killed more than 160 people.

Residents of one of the towns, Jableh, described a day of horror as explosions went off in quick succession only a few meters apart, tearing through civilian crowds — then hitting the hospital emergency room where many of the wounded were taken.

The blasts shattered the sense of safety that residents have long enjoyed, living in the Mediterranean coastal enclave that is the strongest bastion of support for President Bashar Assad.

Monday's bombings, claimed by the Islamic State group, were the first major security breach, bringing the bloodshed to them directly with blasts hitting bus stations, a gas station and the hospital.

In Jableh, a sleepy town on the Mediterranean, funeral after funeral marched through streets emptied of shoppers and commuters, with schools and shops closed, said Mohammed, who runs a Facebook page called Jableh News Network.

In Damascus, Ammar Ismail, a manager of an NGO called Syria my Home and a news website, said callers to a morning radio program he broadcasts on social media were immersed in fear and sadness.