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DAMASCUS, March 14 (Xinhua) -- An explosive device ripped through a passenger bus in Syria's Homs city in central Syria on Tuesday, leaving unknown number of casualties, a source in the Homs governor office told Xinhua.
The source said that an explosive device ripped through a passenger bus at the Muwasalat roundabout in the Wadi Aldahab neighborhood, near an amusement park.
Wadi Aldahab is a pro-government neighborhood in Homs, as it's largely inhabited by people of the Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, to whom the ruling elite in Syria belongs.
Last month, six suicide bombers detonated themselves in two security headquarters in Homs, killing at least 42 people, mostly security personnel.
At the time, the the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front claimed responsibility of the series of the deadly bombings that rocked Homs.
The military commander of the Nusra Front Abu Muhammad Al-Jolani said in a video message last month that the bombings that targeted the security centers in Homs "were only the beginning of more attacks with different means, including the suicide bombings."
He added that the bombings are a lesson to the "defeated politicians" whether in Geneva, or those who participated in the Syrian talks in Astana last month.
"We hope this action (bombings) has washed the shame of the opposition meeting in Geneva," he said.
Moreover, the Nusra Front had also carried out deadly bombings in the capital Damascus on Saturday, killing 74 people and wounded tens of others.
The bombings targeted busses carrying Shiite Iraqis who were said to had been on pilgrim trip to Shiite Shrines in the Shagour neighborhood in Damascus.
The Nusra Front, which recently changed its name to the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, or the Front for Conquering the Levant, has been designated as a terrorist group by the international community.
The group, regardless of its names, was also excluded, along with the Islamic State (IS) group, from any political settlement or the currently-underway ceasefire, which explains its aggressive reactions.
Tuesday's bombing coincides with the third round of Syrian talks in Astana, where representative of the government and the rebel groups are set to meet under the supervision of Turkey and Russia.
