U.S. embassy calls Syria bombings "unacceptable"

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The U.S. embassy in Beirut called a double bombing that killed 55 people in Syria on Thursday "reprehensible and unacceptable" but said it would not change U.S. demands that the Syrian government implement a UN-backed peace plan.

The bombings were the deadliest attacks in the Syrian capital, Damascus, since an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began 14 months ago.

"The United States condemns in the strongest terms the attacks that took place today in Damascus," the U.S. embassy said in statements posted on Twitter.

"The indiscriminate targeting and killing of civilians is reprehensible and unacceptable in any context," it said.

The U.S. embassy in Damascus was closed earlier this year when tensions between the two countries rose as Washington voiced support for the revolt against Assad's rule.

The United States has criticized Assad for not sticking to a ceasefire deal and peace plan brokered by special envoy Kofi Annan. International observers say both rebels and the government have violated the agreement as violence continued.

"We continue to call on the Syrian regime to fully and immediately implement the Annan plan," the U.S. embassy in Lebanon said.

(Reporting by Erika Solomon; Editing by Alessandra Rizzo)