Car bombs in central Syria kill 18

11 children among 18 dead in Syria car bombings.

BEIRUT: Two car bombs in Syria's central province of Hama killed 18 people, including 11 children, and wounded 50 others on Friday, state television said.

It said the explosions took place in the towns of Jibrin, a few miles (km) northeast of Hama city, and al-Hamairi. They come three days after attacks on government-controlled areas of Homs and Damascus killed more than 100 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

The attacks followed Monday's announcement that President Bashar al-Assad will seek a third term in office in a June 3 election, defying opponents who have demanded he step aside to allow a negotiated solution to Syria's three-year conflict.