Syria bombings: Isis claims responsibility for five suicide attacks on government-held and Kurdish cities

At least 43 people have been killed in a series of bombings, state media reports

General view shows the damage at a site of an explosion in Bab Tadmor in Homs, Syria in this handout picture provided by SANA on 5 September, 2016 (Reuters)

Isis has claimed five suicide bombings across Syria that have killed at least 43 people.

Four explosions hit the government controlled cities of Tartous, Homs and in the countryside outside the capital Damascus, while a fifth explosion hit the Kurdish-held city of Hasaka.

Isis claimed responsibility for the suicide attacks through its Amaq news agency.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights which maintains a network of contacts inside the country, put the death toll at 47.

Two violent explosions hit the Arzouna bridge area at the entrance to the northwestern coastal city of Tartous, the Observatory and state news agency Sana said.

The Observatory put the death toll at 35, including members of the Syrian military and an army colonel, and said the number was likely to rise.

The head of a Tartous hospital told Sana 35 people were killed and 45 wounded.

Syrian state television said the first explosion was a car bomb and the second was a suicide belt detonated as rescue workers came to the scene of the first incident.

A car bomb struck the city of Homs at the entrance to the Bab Tadmur neighbourhood, Sana said.

The governor of Homs province said a car bomb struck a military checkpoint in the provincial capital, Homs, killing three soldiers and a civilian and injuring 10 others.

A motor bike exploded in the centre of the northeastern city of Hasaka, which is under the control of the Kurdish YPG militia, killing eight, Sana said..

The Observatory said the blast killed three members of the Kurdish security force, known as the Asayish, and two civilians.

Sana also reported an explosion in the Sabbourah suburb in the capital Damacus, killing one. The Observatory said three were killed.

Isis claimed twin suicide bombings that killed over 160 people in the neighbouring coastal towns of Tartus and Jableh in May.

Additional reporting by agencies