Syria: Bombs blow up military bus, killing 13

At least 14 people have been killed and another three wounded after roadside bombs blew up a military bus in the Syrian capital of Damascus today.

Two bombs detonated underneath a busy bridge in the Syrian capital during Wednesday morning rush hour, destroying the bus as it passed underneath. 

A third bomb was subsequently found nearby and defused by military engineers before it could explode, Syria’s state news agency said.

The bombs exploded as the bus was passing underneath the President’s Bridge in central Damascus early on Wednesday, leaving the vehicle completely burned out

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Such bombings have become rare in Damascus since the government drove ISIS out of the city in 2018.

The attack is notable because it occurred in the very centre of Damascus, underneath the President’s Bridge in an area where buses gather before departing for different destinations around the city.

The bridge is a short distance from Syria’s parliament building, government offices, and the Four Seasons hotel where many UN officials in the country are based. 

Multiple terror groups operate in Syria, including ISIS and Tahrir al-Sham which has links to al-Qaeda but officially denies being a part of it.

Roadside bombings carried out in the northern city of Afrin earlier this year were blamed on YPG/PKK groups, which are largely comprised of Kurdish fighters who were supported by western forces during the country’s civil war.

Turkey now administers security in parts of northern Syria where they operate, and considers them to be a terrorist group. 

President Bashar Assad’s forces now control much of Syria after military help from his allies Russia and Iran helped tip the balance of power in his favor.

Syria’s conflict that began in March 2011 has left more than 350,000 people dead and displaced half the country’s population, including five million who are refugees abroad.

In August, Syria’s state media said a short circuit triggered an explosion in the gas tank of a bus carrying soldiers, killing one and wounding three.

Syrian government forces rushed to the scene where they found and defused a third roadside bomb before it exploded, and then cleared the debris (pictured)

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Such bombings have become rare in Damascus since the government retook full control of the city from ISIS in 2018

Government troops clear away the remains of the destroyed bus, as the hunt begins for the attackers. Several terror groups still operate in Syria, including ISIS