UN chief condemns bomb attacks in Syrian capital The blast site is seen in Damascus, Syria, on March 17, 2012. A total of 27 people were k...

UN chief condemns bomb attacks in Syrian capital

The blast site is seen in Damascus, Syria, on March 17, 2012. A total of 27 people were killed and nearly 100 wounded in two suicide bombings targeting security headquarters in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Saturday, Syrian Minister of Health Wael al-Halki said on state TV. (Xinhua/Hazim)

People remove debris from a damaged building after two car bomb attacks in Damascus, Syria on 17 March 2012. A total of 27 people were killed and nearly 100 wounded in two suicide bombings targeting security headquarters in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Saturday, Syrian Minister of Health Wael al-Halki said on state TV. (Xinhua/Hazim)

 UNITED NATIONS, March 17 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday condemned the deadly multiple bomb attacks in Damascus and called for an immediate end to all violence.

A statement issued here late Saturday by Ban's spokesman said "the secretary-general firmly condemns the multiple bomb attacks today in Damascus which killed and injured scores of people."

"He extends his sympathy and condolences to the bereaved families of the victims and the people of Syria," the statement said, adding that "the secretary-general calls for all violence to cease immediately."

At least 27 people were killed and around 100 others injured when two suicide bombings rocked the Syrian capital on Saturday morning in swift succession, the Syrian Ministry of Health said in a televised statement.

The bombings were the latest in a string of suicide attacks that targeted military and security compounds in Syria's two largest cities of Damascus and Aleppo and claimed the lives of dozens of civilians and government personnel.

The suicide bombings bore the hallmark of al-Qaida, according to the Syrian government.