The recent fatal bombings in Syria have cast dim shadows on Fridays, keeping the majority of Syrians indoors, out of fears that fresh attacks might befall on a day that used to be of prayers and family picnics for Muslims.

Last Friday, a suicide bomber blew himself up near a police station in al-Midan neighborhood in the capital of Damascus, killing 26 people, including policemen and civilians, and leaving dozens more wounded.

Since the eruption of mass protests against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011, it was the second deadly attack in the Syrian capital, which had been immune from such attacks for over 30 years. On Dec. 23, also a Friday, twin suicide bombings targeted two intelligence centers in Damascus, where 44 people were killed and 166 others injured.

Fears mounted shortly ahead of this Friday's noon prayers, as the two previous bombings occurred approximately at this time.

"We spent Friday's morning either flipping between TV channels or praying that no more blasts will happen in Damascus. We are extremely worried," Samir Hamed, a merchant, told Xinhua on Friday.

"This morning passed quietly and lifelessly," Hamed said. But he said he would certainly be as much anxious seven days later.

Not only weekends, the latest attacks have also panicked the Syrians and cast a pall on their everyday life.

Streets look semi-deserted especially with the nightfall, while shopping and dining areas have turn less abustle in recent days.

Around buildings related to intelligence units or security forces in the capital city, extra road checkpoints have been set up, and some streets nearby are cut off.

An increasing number of plainclothes security agents are stationing protectively in key areas, while police cars can be seen everywhere. Fire engines are even parked near some foreign embassies.

The Syrian authorities have said the string of attacks bore the fingerprints of al-Qaida or an affiliated Salafi group. It meanwhile exchanges barbs with the opposition, as each holds the other responsible for the surge of violence across the country.

The government contends that the opposition, backed by regional powerhouses, is targeting security agents, army personnel and law- enforcement members in a drive to undermine the country's stability as a prelude to topple the current administration.

It pointed out that some postings on Facebook had talked about the al-Midan explosion hours ahead of the bombing.

Meanwhile, the opposition accuses the rulers of fabricating attacks to disgrace the rebels and justify a bloody crackdown on dissidents.

However, the recent threats made by a defected army officer about escalating attacks have reinforced the government's argument that the protests in Syria were not peaceful as the opposition has long insisted.

Riad al-Assad, a Syrian defected colonel and head of the so- called Free Syrian Army, said recently that he was discontent with the Arab League (AL) observers' attempts to rein the military campaign against protesters, and warned that he would wait only for a few days ahead of stepping up attacks.

The government said the opposition were painstakingly working to take the Syrian crisis to the United Nations Security Council and turning down all attempts by the government to settle the crisis internally or at least with in the Arab framework.

In a statement on Tuesday, the fourth since March, President al- Assad vowed to beat with an "iron fist" whoever tries to mess with Syria's security and stability.

He, however, noted that a new national government would be formed soon, hinting that the opposition would hold major portfolios, apparently giving vent to feelings of strain in the Syrian streets and undermining attempts to take the Syrian crisis to the Security Council.

Yet, Haitham Maleh, dubbed the sheik of the Syrian opposition, said the internationalization of the Syrian crisis is "inevitable. "

The AL has said it would give the Arab observer mission to Syria more time to go on with the field task which they started in Syria in the last days of 2011 to verify the Syrian government's commitment to an AL plan to end its alleged crackdown on dissidents.

The decision came in spite of the outcry of the opposition figures who have blatantly accused the observers of attempting to cover the government's practices.

Syrians look with suspicion to the job of the Arab observers and some of them have further linked the surge in deadly attacks with their presence.