Syria state TV: Powerful blast rattles Damascus

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FILE - This Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009 file photo shows Syrian President Bashar Assad, seen, during a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, unseen, at the presidency in Tehran, Iran. Syrian President Bashar Assad says he won't step down before elections are held in his war-ravaged country. The Syrian leader's comments, published Saturday in the Argentine newspaper Clarin, highlight the difficulties the U.S. and Russia face in getting the Assad regime and Syria's political opposition to the table at an international conference envisioned for next month. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

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Syria state TV: ... FILE - This Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009 file photo shows Syrian President Bashar Assad, seen, during a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, unseen, at the presidency in Tehran, Iran. Syrian President Bashar Assad says he won't step down before elections are held in his war-ravaged country. The Syrian leader's comments, published Saturday in the Argentine newspaper Clarin, highlight the difficulties the U.S. and Russia face in getting the Assad regime and Syria's political opposition to the table at an international conference envisioned for next month. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
Attacks kill 16 ... Iraqis gather at the scene of a bomb attack in Baqouba, northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, May 17, 2013. A bomb killed dozens of people at a Sunni mosque in central Iraq, hitting worshippers as they were emerging from Friday prayers, security officials said. The attack in Baqouba comes after two days of attacks, many in Shiite districts, left tens of people dead. Attacks against Sunni mosques have also been on the rise recently, raising fears that the country is slipping into a new round of sectarian violence. (AP Photo/Adem Hadei)
Plane catches fi... In this image taken Saturday, May 18, 2013 made available from AP video, passengers leave a Boeing 737 belonging to Russian carrier UTair in Vnukovo airport, outside , Russia, on Saturday, May 18, 2013. Emergency officials said the landing gear of a plane carrying more then 130 people caught on fire as it was landing. All passengers and crew members were safely evacuated. (AP Photo/AP video)
Afghan lawmakers... FILE - In this Thursday, April 11, 2013 file photo, an Afghan woman peers through the the eye slit of her burqa as she waits to try on a new burqa in shop in the old town of Kabul, Afghanistan. Conservative religious lawmakers in Afghanistan blocked a law on Saturday, May 18, 2013 that aims to protect women's freedoms, with some arguing that parts of it violate Islamic principles or encourage women to have sex outside of marriage. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)
Denmark favorite... Emmelie de Forest of Denmark performs her song "Only Teardrops" during a rehearsal for the final of the Eurovision Song Contest at the Malmo Arena in Malmo, Sweden, Friday, May 17, 2013. The contest is run by European television broadcasters with the event being held in Sweden as they won the competition in 2012, the final will be held in Malmo on May 18. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
SKorea says NKor... A South Korean man watches a TV news reporting missile launch conducted by North Korea, at a Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, May 18, 2013. North Korea fired three short-range guided missiles into its eastern waters on Saturday, a South Korean official said. It routinely tests such missiles, but the latest launches came during a period of tentative diplomacy aimed at easing tensions. The letters at a screen read " Fired three short-range guided missiles." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
AP Impact: Myanm... In this March 8, 2013 photo, Tay Za, foreground left, attends an opening ceremony of a branch office of his bank in Yangon, Myanmar. If you're American and want to do business in Myanmar, there's a list of people and companies that by law you have to steer clear of, including Tay Za. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)
Pope leads pep r... Pope Francis arrives to meets with faithful of the ecclesiastic movements on the occasion of a Pentecost vigil in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, May 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Boats carrying f... Internally displaced Rohingya boys shiver in rain in a makeshift camp for Rohingya people in Sittwe, northwestern Rakhine State, Myanmar, ahead of the arrival of Cyclone Mahasen, Tuesday, May 14, 2013. The U.N. said the cyclone, expected later this week, could swamp makeshift housing camps sheltering tens of thousands of Rohingya. Myanmar state television reported Monday that 5,158 people were relocated from low-lying camps in Rakhine state to safer shelters. But far more people are considered vulnerable. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)
Syrian troops fl... This Tuesday, May 14, 2013 citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows the mother of a Syrian rebel cleaning a rifle, in Aleppo, Syria. Activists say Syrian rebels have detonated two car bombs outside the main prison in the northern city of Aleppo and are trying to storm the facility, where hundreds of regime opponents are believed to be held. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center AMC)
Rights groups: S... This citizen journalism image provided by Edlib News Network, ENN, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows anti-Syrian regime protesters holding a placard with a caricature of Syrian President Bashar Assad during a demonstration in Kafr Nabil, in Idlib province, northern Syria, Friday, May 17, 2013. Rights activists have found torture devices and other evidence of abuse in government prisons in the first Syrian city to fall to the rebels, Human Rights Watch said in a report Friday. (AP Photo/Edlib News Network ENN)
Caribbean talks ... A statue decorates the pool area of Richard Branson's property on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands, Friday, May 17, 2013. Political and business leaders gathered here Friday to back an initiative aimed at expanding protection for the Caribbean's imperiled coasts and waters. Delegations from the participating governments signed a communique pledging to establish a framework for a regional approach to coastal conservation, including “increasing considerably the number of marine protected areas.” They also said they recognized an urgent need to protect sharks and rays, and vowed a “dramatic acceleration in the transition from fossil fuels to alternative energy sources over the next five years.” (AP Photo/Todd VanSickle)
US, Turkey proje... President Barack Obama smiles as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during their joint news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Thursday, May 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Cannes helps act... Actress Berenice Bejo poses for portraits at during the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Laurent Emmanuel)
Tale of Mexican ... From left, actor Armando Espitia, director Amat Escalante and actress Andrea Vergara pose for photographers during a photo call for the film Heli at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)