One killed in a car bombing in Damascus

Three vehicles caught fire in the Mazzeh district

A damaged vehicle at the site of a bomb blast in Damascus on July 27. Reuters
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One person was killed in a car bombing in Damascus on Saturday, the official Syrian news agency Sana reported.

Sana, quoting a police official, said an explosive device went off in a car in the Mazzeh district, killing one person. It did not provide any other details.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor with a network of sources on the ground, said three vehicles caught fire.

The area is home to several Syrian security and military headquarters, as well as international organisations and embassies, most notably the Iranian embassy, which was attacked in April.

Security incidents, including blasts targeting military and civilian vehicles, occur intermittently in the capital of war-ravaged Syria.

The explosion comes against a backdrop of heightened regional tensions, including the war between Israel and the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Last month, an explosive device went off in a car in Mazzeh, an upscale neighbourhood of Damascus, without causing any casualties, Sana reported at the time.

Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes in Syria since civil war broke out in 2011, targeting Iran-backed forces including Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, as well as Syrian army positions.

Updated: May 25, 2024, 9:44 AM