Syria Says 50 Dead in Damascus Blasts Syria's health minister says 50 people have been killed in two strong explosions that ripped through the Syrian capital. That makes Thursday morning's bombings the deadliest attack on the capital since the country's uprising began 14 months ago. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. The explosions heavily damaged a military intelligence building and left blood and human remains in the streets. The blasts happened at about 7:50 a.m., when employees are usually arriving at work. DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - Two strong explosions ripped through the Syrian capital Thursday, killing more than 40 people and leaving scenes of carnage in the streets in an assault against a center of government power, officials said. Syria's state-run TV said 170 people were wounded in what one official said may have been the most powerful of a series of blasts that have hit the capital this year. There was no claim of responsibility for Thursday's attack on a military intelligence headquarters. But an al-Qaida-inspired group has claimed responsibility for several large explosions targeting mostly security facilities since December, raising fears that extremist groups are entering Syria's conflict and exploiting the chaos. The regime has used the bombings to support its claims that terrorists rather than a popular uprising are behind Syria's violence. The relentless violence by both sides of the conflict has brought a U.N.-brokered ceasefire plan to the brink of collapse. Thursday's explosions, which ripped the facade off the intelligence building, went off at about 7:50 a.m. when employees are usually arriving at work. The building is part of a broader military compound for a feared section of the intelligence services known as the Palestine Branch. An Associated Press reporter at the scene said paramedics wearing rubber gloves were collecting human remains from the pavement after the explosions. Heavily damaged cars and pickup trucks stood smoldering in the area. The outer wall of the headquarters collapsed and some walls crumbled, although the basic structure inside appeared intact. The Syrian government blamed "terrorists" and said dozens were killed or wounded, most of them civilians. Maj. Gen. Robert Mood, the Norwegian head of the U.N.'s cease-fire monitors in the country, toured the site and said the Syrian people do not deserve this "terrible violence." "It is not going to solve any problems," he said, when asked what his message was to those who are carrying out such attacks. It is only going to create more suffering for women and children. Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi posted a message on his Facebook page urging people to go to hospitals to donate blood, saying that Thursday's blast "might be the strongest" of a wave of explosions that have hit Damascus since late December.