Damascus blasts toll climbs to 74

SYRIA’S former al-Qaeda affiliate, the Fateh al-Sham Front, has claimed it was behind twin bombings targeting Shi’ite pilgrims in the centre of Damascus that killed 74 people.

“On Saturday . . . a twin attack was carried out by two heroes of Islam . . . in the centre of the capital Damascus, killing and wounding dozens,” its statement said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said yesterday the toll from the blasts had risen to 74 dead.

Among the victims were 43 Iraqi pilgrims who had come to visit Shi’ite shrines in Damascus’s famed Old City, the Britain-based monitor said.

Eleven bystanders and eight children were among those killed, as well as 20 members of the pro-government security forces.

Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said a roadside bomb detonated as a bus carrying pilgrims made its way through the Bab al-Saghir area of the Old City before a suicide bomber blew himself up.

Syrian state television on Saturday gave a toll of 40 killed and 120 wounded by “two bombs detonated by terrorists”. Iraq’s foreign ministry said around 40 of its nationals had died.

Shi’ite shrines are a frequent target for Sunni extremists of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, not only in Syria but also in neighbouring Iraq.

The Sayyida Zeinab mausoleum to the south of Damascus, Syria’s most visited Shi’ite pilgrimage site, has been hit by several deadly bombings.

Twin suicide bombings in Damascus’ high-security Kafr Sousa district in January killed 10 people, eight of them soldiers. The attack was also claimed by the Fateh al-Sham Front.