Car bomb kills 4 in Assad clan's hometown

Rebels took Syria's civil war to the ruling Assad clan's hometown for the first time today, killing four people in a car bomb attack on a hospital, state television and a monitor said.
The attack came as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that troops had executed 48 people earlier this week in a northern village, among them 10 children.
"A terrorist car bomb attack in the parking of Qardaha hospital killed four citizens and wounded several others," the television said in a news flash, using the regime term for rebels.
Earlier, the Britain-based Observatory had reported the blast, saying it was not immediately clear if it was from a car bomb or rocket fire.

The blast, the first to hit the heart of the western town since the outbreak of Syria's civil war in 2011, killed a nurse, a hospital employee and two soldiers, said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.
The outskirts of Qardaha have previously come under rocket fire, while Latakia province -- where the town is located -- has seen several rounds of heavy fighting.

A mausoleum containing the graves of President Bashar al-Assad's father and predecessor, Hafez, and brother Bassil, is located in Qardaha.
The clan has ruled Syria with an iron fist for more than 40 years.
Syria's war began in March 2011 as a pro-democracy revolt seeking Assad's ouster. It morphed into a conflict after the regime unleashed a brutal crackdown on dissent.