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The blasts, one from a car bomb and another from a suicide attack, struck the Zahra district in the middle of the city, according to Reuters referring to the Britain-based Observatory, which monitors the conflict through a network of contacts on the ground.

It was the second major attack in the city since a ceasefire deal took effect earlier this month, paving the way for the government to take over the last rebel-controlled area of Homs, according to the report.

Twin blasts on December 12, also in Zahra, killed at least 16 people. Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack, saying it had detonated a suicide car bomb.

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Under the Homs ceasefire deal, at least 700 insurgent fighters and members of their families left the last rebel-controlled area of the city, al Waer district. The United Nations presided over implementation of the deal.