Holiday ceasefire in Syria crumbles amid deadly fighting

A powerful car bomb exploded in Damascus yesterday, inflicting many casualties and shattering a shaky temporary truce in the Syrian conflict on the occasion of a Muslim religious holiday.

State television said the "terrorist car bomb" had killed five people and wounded 32, according to "preliminary figures".

Opposition activists said the bomb had gone off near a makeshift children's playground built for the Eid al-Adha holiday in the southern Daf al-Shok district of the capital.

Fighting erupted around Syria earlier as both sides violated the ceasefire arranged by international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, but violence was far less intense than usual.

The Syrian military said it had responded to attacks by insurgents on army positions, in line with its announcement on Thursday that would cease military activity during the four-day holiday, but reserved the right to react to rebel actions.

Brahimi's ceasefire appeal had won international support, including from Russia, China and Iran, President Bashar al-Assad's main foreign allies.