• NEW: Two explosions occur in a parking garage in Damascus
  • NEW: At least 45 people are killed in fighting Thursday, the opposition says
  • U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will attend a meeting on Syria, an official says
  • Clinton agreed to the meeting after talking with a special envoy, the official says



(CNN) -- A day after attackers bombed a pro-government TV station, massive explosions shook the heart of Damascus near the Justice Ministry, the state-run media said.
Two blasts occurred in a parking garage Thursday outside the Palace of Justice, which houses the ministry, Syrian state-TV said. The Local Coordination Committees of Syria confirmed the blast and said it occurred in the Marja neighborhood of central Damascus.
TV video showed heavy smoke rising above buildings in Damascus. Firefighters battled a blaze at the site of the explosion.
On Wednesday, bombers killed at least seven people in the headquarters of al-Ikhbaria, near Damascus, killing three journalists and four security guards, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported. The attackers also ransacked and destroyed studios, the news outlet said.
There have been a flurry of attacks in Syria's major cities of Damascus and Aleppo in recent months, strikes that President Bashar al-Assad's regime has blamed on terrorists. Opposition groups have said the government itself has been behind such attacks to discredit the anti-regime forces.

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In other provinces on Thursday, at least 45 people were killed, the LCC said. They include 20 in Douma in the Damascus suburbs and 10 people in Deir Ezzor.
After more than 15 months, unrest in the Arab nation shows no sign of abating. Internationally, tension rose last week after Syria shot down a Turkish jet, an act deplored by NATO and many Western nations.
World diplomats have been working to end the intensifying violence and restore peace.
An emergency meeting has been set for Saturday in Geneva, Switzerland, to deal with the crisis. Kofi Annan, the United Nations' and Arab League's special envoy for Syria, is gathering world diplomats with the goal of agreeing on a plan to end the violence in Syria that has left thousands dead.
The meeting will bring together top diplomats of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council -- China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States -- and Turkey. Envoys from the United Nations, European Union, and Arab League also were invited.
The meeting of the group, dubbed The Action Group for Syria, comes at a critical time for the country, which has been mired in an uprising since March 2011 that has pitted al-Assad's forces against rebels calling for his ouster.

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A peace plan hammered out by Annan fell apart this month after both sides -- the Syrian government and the rebels -- accused the other of failing to abide by the terms to end the killing.
CNN can not independently confirm the reports of casualties or violence because access by international journalists to Syria has been severely restricted.
It's unclear whether Annan can get a unanimous consensus on the proposal.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is among those attending. The meeting of the diplomats will come one day after Clinton meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in St. Petersburg.
Russia has opposed the idea that other countries dictate a political transition, insisting it is a decision for the Syrians themselves.
Russia and China, permanent members of the Security Council, have major trade deals with Syria. Both countries vetoed a U.N. resolution calling for an end to the violence and a transition of power.
While in St. Petersburg this week, Clinton also plans to discuss Russian arms sales to al-Assad's regime, the State Department official told reporters this week.
A shipment of refurbished Russian helicopters headed for Syria had to turn around and return to Russia after its British insurance company dropped coverage on the ship carrying helicopters.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz, Chelsea J. Carter and Jill Dougherty contributed to this report.