THREE INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS were reported by Syrian activists to have been killed in Damascus today.

A separate bomb blast in Damascus injured three in the latest attacks on regime targets, which took place as a UN team observing Syria’s truce was visiting another area near the capital, the suburb of Douma.

Activists and amateur videos reported shelling and gunfire in that area Tuesday, just a day after 55 people were killed across Syria — most of them in a city the observers had recently visited.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the three officers were killed early Tuesday in the Barzeh neighbourhood but gave no further information.

The BBC said that the rise in deaths is “casting fresh doubt” on the peace plan’s success.

Al Jazeera said that video footage posted by activists online showed mortar rounds hitting the Arbeen neighbourhood in Damascus.

Separately, an army truck blew up as it was driving through Damascus in Marjah Square near the Iranian Cultural Center. The truck’s driver and two passengers in a nearby car were injured and taken to a hospital.

The UN says more than 9,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011.

The international community remains divided on how to stop the conflict, but all have endorsed a six-point plan by envoy Kofi Annan that calls for a cease-fire to allow for talks between all sides.

Yesterday, more than 30 people were killed in the central city of Hama, just one day after the monitoring team visited the city.

- Additional reporting AP

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