13 SYRIAN MILITARY PERSONNEL KILLED IN BOMB ATTACK ON MILITARY VEHICLE IN DAMASCUS

Wed 20 October 2021:

According to state television, two roadside bombs exploded near a bus carrying troops in Damascus, killing at least 13 military members and wounded three more.

The early-morning strike was the bloodiest in Damascus in years, and it was a rare occurrence since government forces took control districts previously held by opposition militants during Syria’s 10-year-long conflict.

Syrian official television broadcast video of a burnt bus in central Damascus, claiming that the explosions occurred during rush hour.

It said two explosive devices detonated as the bus approached the Hafez al-Assad bridge, while a third device was defused by an army engineering unit in a “terrorist” blast.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

“It is a cowardly act,” Damascus police commander Major General Hussein Jumaa told state TV, adding that a police force had cordoned off the area immediately and made sure there were no more bombs. He urged people to inform authorities about any suspicious object they see.

This year, alleged ISIL (ISIS) members who still operate in the huge desert area have launched several attacks on army trucks in eastern Syria.

The blast is the deadliest in the capital since an ISIL-claimed bombing in March 2017 that killed at least 30 people near the Justice Palace.

Syria has been embroiled in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

More than 5 million civilians have since been displaced.

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