Syria: Terrorist Blast Targets Muharram Processions in Damascus

By Staff, Agencies

A bomb planted in a taxi has exploded outside the Sayyeda Zainab [AS] shrine in a southern suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus, leaving a number of casualties.

The state news agency SANA said six citizens were martyred Thursday and nearly 23 others were injured in the terrorist explosion in Damascus countryside.

A motorcycle was detonated near a taxi on the Kou Sudan street in Sayyeda Zeinab [AS], it said.

“The police and authorities concerned rushed to the explosion place as bodies of the martyrs and the injured were admitted to hospitals,” the interior ministry said in a statement on telegram.

The terrorist attack comes as millions of Muslims are marking the martyrdom of Imam Hussein [AS] with mourning ceremonies.

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 Muslims flock there to mark the mourning period of Ashura.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the terrorist attack on Thursday. The terrorist Daesh [Arabic Acronym for the Wahhabi "ISIS" / "ISIL"] group has claimed previous attacks on the site. One attack in 2017 killed at least 40 people.