Bomber blows himself up in Tahrir Square in Damascus, in biggest such attack since March

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A suicide car bomber pursued by security forces blew himself up in eastern Damascus on Sunday, killing 21 people, in the deadliest attack to hit the Syrian capital in months.

Syrian state media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said security forces intercepted three car bombers on their way into the city early in the morning.

State television said two of the vehicles were blown up on the outskirts of the city but a third managed to reach the Tahrir Square district, where the driver was surrounded but able to detonate a bomb.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but previous deadly attacks in Damascus have been claimed by Isis and rival jihadist factions.

The UK-based Observatory said 21 people were killed in the bombing, including at least seven members of pro-regime security forces and two civilians. It had not identified the remaining victims. It said at least 12 other people were wounded in the blast.

The Syrian state news agency Sana quoted an interior ministry statement as saying two of the vehicles had been “destroyed” at a roundabout on the road to the city’s airport.

The driver of the third blew himself up while being pursued, it said, “killing a number of civilians, injuring others, and causing material damage to public and private properties.”

Yara, 23, who lives near Tahrir Square, said her apartment had been rattled by the blast. “It was like war had returned after we felt that it had faded away,” she said. “I haven’t left the house yet today – I’m not afraid any more, but I just want to do nothing today.”

Hours after the blast, security was still tight at checkpoints around the city centre although local authorities had reopened some streets leading to Tahrir Square.



Damascus has been spared the large-scale battles that have devastated other major Syrian cities during the country’s six-year civil war but dozens of people have been killed in bombings, usually on the outskirts.

In March, two suicide bomb attacks in Damascus killed several dozen people, most of them at the Palace of Justice courthouse near the Old City. Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack.



Also in March, a double suicide attack in the capital killed scores of people, most of them Iraqi Shia pilgrims. That attack was claimed by the Tahrir al-Sham alliance of Islamist insurgents, which is spearheaded by a jihadist group formerly known as the Nusra Front.

Syrian government forces, which have defeated rebel fighters in several suburbs of Damascus over the last year, are currently fighting in the Jobar and Ain Tarma areas on the capital’s eastern outskirts.</s>Suicide bombers kill two in Niger attack

 

 Suicide bombers kill two in Niger Bombers killed two people and wounded 11 others at a UN-managed camp in Niger housing people who have fled Boko Haram violence in the first suicide attack in the region in a year, the UN refugee agency said.</s>Damascus: Several people were killed and others wounded on Sunday when a suicide bombing struck an eastern district of Damascus, Syrian state television reported.

It said security forces intercepted three suicide car bombers on Sunday morning, blowing up two at the entrance to the city.

The third was able to enter Damascus and blew himself up after being surrounded, causing several deaths and leaving a number of people wounded.

Further details were not immediately available.</s>In the deadliest attack to hit the Syrian capital city of Damascus in months, a group of car bombers attempted to infiltrate the city. Two were caught and detonated themselves outside the city, but a third managed to get all the way into Tahrir Square, blowing himself up there.

The Tahrir Square bombing killed at least 21 people and wounded 12 others. Identities of the victims are still not totally clear, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least seven members of the security forces were among the slain.

Where the other drivers were going isn’t totally clear, but they were intercepted at a roundabout not far from the airport. There has been no claim of responsibility for any of the attacks, though war-torn Syria has no shortage of Islamist factions liable to carry out such a strike.

The last large suicide bombing in Damascus, back in March, was carried out by Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist coalition that includes al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front. There are multiple other Islamist factions, including ISIS, who are also potentially behind this latest attack.
• New York Times, AP Retract False Claims on Intel Report on Russia Hacking - July 1st, 2017
• As ISIS Wanes, New Wars Threaten to Emerge in Syria - June 30th, 2017</s>DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Seven people were killed and 13 more wounded in a suicide attack in Damascus on Sunday, a police officer said.

The attack was one of three car bombings in Damascus on Sunday. State media said the other two were destroyed by the authorities.</s>Damascus — A suicide car bomber pursued by security forces blew himself up in eastern Damascus on Sunday, with a monitor reporting 18 killed in the deadliest attack to hit the Syrian capital in months.

Syrian state media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said security forces intercepted three car bombers on their way into the city early on Sunday morning.

State television said two of the vehicles were blown up on the outskirts of the city.

A third managed to reach the eastern Tahrir Square district, where he was surrounded but able to detonate a bomb.

The Observatory, a Britain-based monitor, said 18 people were killed in the bombing, including at least seven members of pro-regime security forces and two civilians. It had not identified the remaining victims. Syrian state news agency SANA quoted an interior ministry statement as saying two of the vehicles had been "destroyed" at a roundabout on the road to the city’s airport.

The driver of the third blew himself up while being pursued, it said, "killing a number of civilians, injuring others, and causing material damage to public and private properties." An AFP correspondent at Tahrir Square saw extensive damage to nearby buildings. Two bombed-out cars were visible to one side of the square, which was strewn with debris.

A woman was crying in an apartment near the site of the attack. Her balcony had collapsed and the living room was a mess of broken glass and shattered masonry, with pictures and curtains strewn across the floor. The woman said her daughter had been taken to hospital after being injured by flying glass.

Tahrir Square resident Mohammad Tinawi told AFP that he had heard "gunfire at around 6.00am, then an explosion which smashed the glass of houses in the neighbourhood." He said he had seen Red Crescent volunteers treating two wounded soldiers. A shopkeeper confirmed that the explosion had gone off at around 6.00am.

Damascus has been spared the large-scale battles that have devastated other major Syrian cities during the country’s six-year civil war.

But dozens of people have been killed in bombings, particularly on the outskirts of the capital.

In mid-March, bomb attacks on a courthouse and restaurant in central Damascus killed 32 people. That rare assault in the heart of the city, which remains under government control, was claimed by the Islamic State group. That came days after two explosions that left 74 dead in the capital’s Old City and were claimed by the Tahrir al-Sham coalition led by the jihadist Fateh al-Sham Front.

Battlefronts around Damascus have calmed since a May deal that saw opposition fighters withdraw from several neighbourhoods, along with a separate agreement on "de-escalation" zones — including one in a rebel stronghold just outside the capital.

Syria’s conflict broke out with anti-government protests in 2011, but has since evolved into a multi-front war that has killed more than 320,000 people.</s>DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian state TV says at least 8 killed, 12 wounded in Damascus blasts.</s>Deadly suicide bombing kills at least seven in Damascus</s>Syrian state TV says at least 8 killed, 12 wounded in Damascus blasts (UPDATE)

10:21 (GMT+4) Syrian state TV says at least 8 killed, 12 wounded in Damascus blasts, AP reported.

10:21 (GMT+4) A suicide bomber blew himself up in Tahrir square in central Damascus on Sunday, killing and wounding a number of people, Reuters reported.

The bomber was in one of three car bombs that had been pursued by the authorities. The two other car bombs were destroyed in a separate location in western Damascus, state TV reported.</s>Video: Deadly suicide bombing kills at least seven in Damascus

At least seven people were killed as three car bombs target Damascus. Sadiya Chowdhury reports.
Three suicide bombers in Damascus kill at least 21 people and wound 12 others.