Syrian state run television showed the aftermath of two bombs which exploded simultaneously targeting what's said to have been makeshift army barracks and a military police headquarters. Dozens were killed and wounded in the attacks. A branch of the Free Syrian Army said it had planted the explosives.

Earlier Syrian warplanes bombed a residential district in the east of the city where rebels had overrun army barracks on Friday. The exact number of dead is unknown.

President Assad has resorted increasingly to aerial bombardment to control the uprising which has polarised global powers.

In Cairo today peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi is meeting Arab League officials on his first trip to the region since taking over from Kofi Annan.

Brahimi is there to finalise plans before visiting Damascus. But with no signs of the violence ending, expectations are low he will have anymore success than his predecessor.