More than 60 people, including 25 fighters, have been killed in twin blasts near the Shia shrine of Sayyida Zeinab, south of the Syrian capital Damascus. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the casualties were expected to rise from the suicide attacks media say scores of people were also reported to have been injured.
The shrine, which is highly revered by Shia Muslims, has been targeted before, most recently in February last year. The attacks came as delegates from the Syrian government and opposition groups gathered in Geneva for tentative UN-sponsored peace talks. The main opposition group backed down from its threat to boycott the talks.