Damascus suicide bomber kills nine

A suicide bomber killed at least nine people outside a mosque in Damascus on Friday, dealing a further blow to Syria's threadbare ceasefire plan.

Witnesses in the city's central Midan district said a man in military uniform detonated an explosives vest as worshippers left the Zain al-Abideen mosque after Friday prayers.

At least 28 people were wounded in the blast, according to state television. The attack followed a series of deadly bombings in Damascus and Syria's second city of Aleppo in the past five months. The government has blamed them on al-Qaeda terrorists operating within the ranks of the 13-month rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad.

The opposition has accused the government of being behind the explosions, claiming it is part of a plot to tarnish the rebels' image.

Most suicide bombers have targeted civilians but yesterday's attacker appeared to have walked up to soldiers outside the mosque before detonating his explosives. Most of the dead were wearing military uniform, witnesses said.

The attack came as the Conservative Middle East Council, a British think tank, warned that a lack of Western action in Syria could strengthen Islamist elements in the country.

The rebels and the government have accused each other of repeated violations of the ceasefire brokered by Kofi Annan, the UN and Arab League special envoy to Syria. An advance team of 30 UN observers is expected to be in place by Monday.