Two strong explosions ripped through the Syrian capital Thursday, killing more than 40 people and leaving scenes of carnage in the streets in an assault against a center of government power, officials said. Syria's state-run TV said 170 people were wounded in what one official said may have been the most powerful of a series of blasts that have hit the capital this year. There was no claim of responsibility for Thursday's attack on a military intelligence headquarters. But an al-Qaida-inspired group has claimed responsibility for several large explosions targeting mostly security facilities since December, raising fears that extremist groups are entering Syria's conflict and exploiting the chaos. The regime has used the bombings to support its claims that terrorists rather than a popular uprising are behind Syria's violence. The relentless violence by both sides of the conflict has brought a U.N.-brokered ceasefire plan to the brink of collapse. Thursday's ex...