BEIRUT (Reuters) - Car bombs and mortar attacks killed at least 51 people in Syrian government-held areas of Damascus and the central city of Homs on Tuesday, a day after President Bashar al-Assad declared he would seek re-election in June.
Government forces have pushed back the mainly Sunni Muslim rebels seeking to topple Assad from many of their strongholds around Damascus, but residents say the insurgents have stepped up rocket and mortar attacks against the heart of the capital in recent weeks.
