Twin blasts targeting Syria's army command headquarters rocked the capital on Wednesday, setting off hours of sporadic gunbattles and a raging fire inside the heavily guarded compound, state-run media and witnesses said. 
 
 In this image taken from video obtained from the Syria 2011 Archives, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, black smoke rises from Syria's army command headquarters... (Associated Press) 
 
 A Free Syrian Army fighter fires at Syrian Army positions during clashes in Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012. Over the past few months, rebels have increasingly targeted security sites and symbols... (Associated Press) 
 
 A woman cries while holding the body of her brother, who was killed by Syrian Army, in front of Dar El Shifa hospital in Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012. Over the past few months, rebels have increasingly... (Associated Press) 
 
 This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian government forces speaking with Syrian women as they patrol the damaged area of the al-Arqoub district in Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday,... (Associated Press) 
 
 A Syrian woman cries near Dar El Shifa hospital while the body of her brother, killed by Syrian Army, lies on the street in Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012. Over the past few months, rebels have... (Associated Press) 
 
 An army statement said no military commanders or personnel were hurt in the explosions, one of which was from a car bomb. But Iranian Press TV said one of its correspondents, 33-year-old Maya Nasser, a Syrian national, died in an exchange of fire in the area following the blasts. 
 
 The explosions were the latest to hit the Syrian capital as the country's civil war intensified and appeared to show the deep reach of the rebels determined to topple President Bashar Assad's regime. 
 
 Syria's state-run news agency, SANA, said the explosions struck just before 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) near the landmark Omayyad Square. They were heard several miles (kilometers) away and shattered the windows of the Dama Rose hotel and other nearby buildings. 
 
 The army command building was in flames, sending huge columns of thick black smoke that hung over Damascus for several hours following the blasts. 
 
 Witnesses said the explosions were followed by heavy gunfire that stretched on for hours at the Omayyad Square and around the military compound. One witness who managed to get close to the area, which was cordoned off, saw panicked soldiers shooting in the air randomly as they ran. 
 
 The witness, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said it appears that rebels may have been holed up inside the army command building, from where the sound of gunfire could clearly be heard. 
 
 The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, said heavy clashes were taking place inside the compound of the army command, adding that there were casualties on both sides. 
 
 "The explosions shook the entire apartment and the windows shattered," said a resident of the nearby Abu Rummaneh district who spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns. "It was like a quake." 
 
 The army statement said the blasts were caused by a car bomb and an explosive device that went off near the army command buildings. It said "terrorists" in the area simultaneously opened fire randomly to terrorize people, adding that authorities were pursuing the gunmen. Syrian authorities regularly refer to rebels fighting to topple Assad's regime as terrorists. 
 
 The statement said a number of guards were wounded. 
 
 "I can confirm that all our comrades in the military command and defense ministry are fine," Information Minister Omran Zoubi told Syrian TV, which is located near the site of the explosion, in a telephone call. 
 
 "Everything is normal," he said. "There was a terrorist act, perhaps near a significant location, yes, this is true, but they failed as usual to achieve their goals." 
 
 Ambulances were rushed to the site as police sealed off the area to traffic and journalists. Traffic in other areas snarled as checkpoints were set up, blocking access to the capital from the suburbs. 
 
 Syria's unrest began in March 2011 when protests calling for political change met a violent government crackdown. Many in the opposition have since taken up arms as the conflict morphed into a civil war that activists say has killed nearly 30,000 people. Over the past few months, the rebels have increasingly targeted security sites and symbols of regime power in a bid to turn the tide in the fighting. 
 
 On July 18, rebels penetrated the heart of Syria's power elite, detonating a bomb inside a high-level crisis meeting in Damascus that killed three top regime officials, including Assad's brother-in-law and the defense minister. Other large blasts have targeted the headquarters of security agencies in the capital, killing scores of people this year. 
 
 On Tuesday, several bombs went off inside a Damascus school that activists said was being used by regime forces as a security headquarters. Several people were wounded. 
 
 Syria's conflict was the focus of attention as world leaders gathered at the U.N. General Assembly's annual meeting in New York this week. 
 
 U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanded international action to stop the war in Syria, telling a somber gathering of world leaders Tuesday that the 18-month conflict had become "a regional calamity with global ramifications." 
 
 Ban, declaring that the situation in Syria is getting worse every day, called the conflict a serious and growing threat to international peace and security that requires attention from the deeply divided U.N. Security Council. 
 
 That appears highly unlikely, however, at least in the near future. 
 
 Russia and China have vetoed three Western-backed resolutions aimed at pressuring Assad to end the violence and enter negotiations on a political transition, leaving the U.N.'s most powerful body paralyzed in what some diplomats say is the worst crisis since the U.S.-Soviet standoff during the Cold War. 
 
 In sharp contrast to the U.N. chief, President Barack Obama pledged U.S. support for Syrians trying to oust Assad _ "a dictator who massacres his own people." 
 
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 Karam reported from Beirut. ||||| Loading ... 
 
 The two were covering twin blasts in Damascus and the ensuing fighting. 
 
 Insurgents in the Syrian capital Damascus have attacked Press TV staff, killing the Iranian English-language news network’s correspondent Maya Naser, and injuring its Damascus Bureau Chief Hosein Mortada. Naser came under attack while reporting on air just hours ago. He was shot and killed by a sniper. Press TV and Al-Alam Damascus Bureau Chief Hosein Mortada also came under attack and was injured.“We hold Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, who provide militants weapons to kill civilians, military personnel and journalists, responsible for killing Maya,” Press TV’s News Room Director Hamid Reza Emadi said. “Press TV will pursue the matter of the murder of Maya and would not let those who killed the correspondent feel like they can kill the media people and get away with it,” he emphasized. Born on July 30, 1979 in Syria, Maya Naser studied political science at KUPLAN University, NY, US. He was fluent in Arabic and English and had worked in many countries including the USA, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Bahrain. AO/HJL/IS
– Damascus has been rocked by bombings for the past two days, with at least two large blasts hitting Syria's military headquarters there this morning. The Free Syrian Army claimed responsibility for the attack, said to be the largest since July explosions killed President Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law and other key aides; the BBC reports that Assad would have been able to hear today's explosions from his palace. Gunfire broke out afterward, and Maya Nasser, a TV correspondent for the Iranian Press TV, was shot dead by sniper fire during a live broadcast, report the New York Times and Press TV. Other government facilities were hit by bombs yesterday, proving the opposition can still get past government security, but the regime is downplaying the scope of the attacks while the opposition says many of Assad's forces have been killed. In other news from Syria: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for international action at the General Assembly yesterday, calling the conflict "a regional calamity with global ramifications," the AP reports. Click for more from the General Assembly on Syria. Clashes have also been reported near Syria's border with Israel, leading the Israel Defense Forces to issue a statement declaring that "fire from Syria leaking into Israel will not be accepted."