U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit Turkey next Saturday to discuss the deteriorating situation in neighboring Syria. 
Syria Death Map - updated August 1, 2012 The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says more than two dozen people were killed in clashes across Syria.
A State Department official made the announcement Sunday as Clinton visited Malawi during her African tour.
In Syria, explosions Saturday rocked the capital, Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo as security forces tried to push rebels from their remaining strongholds.
x
In another development, Iranian media said Sunday Tehran has asked Turkey and Qatar to help secure the release of 48 Iranian nationals kidnapped Saturday in Damascus. Iran says the victims were religious pilgrims, but Al-Arabiya television says rebels in Syria describe them as elite Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
Iran backs the Syrian government, while Turkey and Qatar support the Syrian opposition.
