Syrian explosion kills 12 as blame laid with both sides

Twelve people were killed when an explosion rocked a government-held district of the disputed Syrian city of Aleppo, a monitoring group said, and both sides in the conflict accused the other of mounting the attack.

State television showed the collapsed side of a building and rubble spilling into nearby streets. A crowd sifted through the wreckage as medics loaded bloodied bodies onto stretchers.

It said the explosion had been caused by a rocket fired by a “terrorist group” — a term it uses to describe the rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad.