DAMASCUS, Jan. 26 -- At least 15 people were killed and many others wounded on Tuesday by two explosions that rocked Syria's central city of Homs, state news agency SANA said.

A booby-trapped car ripped through a pro-government district of Syria's central city of Homs, followed by another explosion carried out by a suicide bomber, who detonated his explosive belt in the same district Tuesday, SANA reported.

The bombings targeted the al-Zahra' neighborhood, which is inhabited by people of the Alwaite minority, to whom the ruling elite in Syria belongs.

According to the official reports, minutes separated the two bombings in al-Zahara', which has been a target for several bombings in recent months.

The neighborhood along with other districts of Homs loyal to the government has suffered from repeated suicide bombings, as well as rocket and mortar fire from rebels entrenched in the countryside of Homs, Syria's third largest city.