Damascus rocked by suicide blast, two others foiled at checkpoints
DAMASCUS, Syria — Security forces chased three explosive-laden vehicles through Damascus yesterday, intercepting two of them at checkpoints but failing to stop the third before it exploded in the city center, killing at least eight people, state media reported.
The rare attack in the heart of Syria’s capital unfolded ahead of the morning commute on the first work day after a major Muslim holiday.
The Interior Ministry said security forces tracked all three cars and intercepted two of them at checkpoints on the airport road. The third made it into the city center, where the driver blew himself up near Tahreer Square.
The Syrian Minister of Local Administration, Hussein Makhlouf, said the response marked a “major success in foiling a plot” to cause mass casualties.
Syrian state TV reported eight killed and another 12 people wounded in the blast near Damascus’ old city. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks the fighting with on-theground monitors, reported at least 12 killed. Meanwhile the Hezbollah-linked Lebanon’s al-Manar TV, which is close to the Syrian government, and Diary of a Mortar, a Syrian activist group in the capital, said 19 people were killed.
Such attacks have been relatively rare in Damascus, the seat of power for President Bashar Assad, who made several public appearances last week in a show of increased confidence after more than six years of civil war. Government forces have engaged in heavy fighting in Damascus’ suburbs, but have largely kept the rebels out of the city center.