DAMASCUS ( AP) — An explosion ripped through a busy intersection in the Syrian capital today, hitting a police bus and killing at least 11 people and possibly many more in an attack that left pools of blood in the streets and marked the second deadly attack in the capital in as many weeks, Syrian authorities said.

Interior Minister Mohammed Shaar blamed a suicide bomber for the blast, which comes exactly two weeks after twin bombings in the capital killed 44 people. The bombings mark a dramatic escalation of bloodshed as Arab League observers tour the country to investigate President Bashar Assad’s bloody crackdown on a 10-month-old popular revolt.

“He detonated himself with the aim of killing the largest number of people,” Shaar said.

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