Bomb blast kills 6 people at shrine near Damascus, Syrian state media report
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Explosives planted in a taxi detonated one day before the holy day of Ashura, state media reported
DAMASCUS (Reuters) – A bomb planted in a vehicle exploded outside the Sayeda Zeinab shrine city south of the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday, killing six people and wounding several others, Syrian state media reported.
Explosives planted in a taxi detonated one day before the solemn holy day of Ashura, state media reported, citing the interior ministry.
State-run Al-Ikhbariya TV and the state news agency said Syrian Health Minister Hassan al-Ghabash also reported that 26 people wounded in the blast in the Sayida Zeinab neighborhood were being treated at several hospitals. Twenty others were treated on site or discharged, he said.
The state television broadcast footage of the charred front of a car.
One resident told Reuters he heard a loud blast around 5:30 pm (1430 GMT), after which security forces sealed off the area.
It was the second attack this week at the shrine. Two people were wounded in a separate blast on Tuesday. It is high season for the shrine as Shi'ite Muslims flock there to mark the mourning period of Ashura.
Sayeda Zeinab – the granddaughter of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) – is venerated by Shi'ites and her shrine is a site of mass pilgrimage for Shi'ites from across the world. It has also been a magnet for Shi'ite militiamen in Syria.
Both Iran and the Tehran-allied Lebanese group Hezbollah have backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war that erupted in 2011.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack on Thursday. The Islamic State group has claimed previous attacks on the site. One attack in 2017 killed at least 40 people.
