By BASSEM MROUE
Two suicide bomb attacks struck close to the Syrian capital Saturday, killing at least eight people and wounding over a dozen others in the latest attack to hit the predominantly Shiite area in recent months, state TV and an opposition activist group said.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the bombings through its Aamaq news agency, which said there were three attacks carried by suicide bombers. Aamaq said two IS attackers were wearing explosive belts while the third was in a car.
It was not immediately possible to explain the discrepancy between Aamaq’s account and those of Syrian state media and activists, who reported only two explosions.
Syrian State TV said the blasts in the Sayyida Zeinab area just south of Damascus killed eight people and wounded 13 others. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 20 people were killed and dozens were wounded in the two explosions.
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The Sayyida Zeinab suburb is home to a shrine by the same name, one of the most renowned in Shiite Islam. The heavily guarded shrine to Sayyida Zeinab, the daughter of the first Shiite imam, Ali, and granddaughter of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, receives thousands of Shiite pilgrims each year.
The TV later aired footage from the blast site, showing several vehicles and shops on fire and at least two heavily damaged buildings, whose balconies, doors and windows had been destroyed. Blood stains could be seen on the debris-covered road. Fire engines rushed to the scene to extinguish fires caused by the explosions.
State news agency SANA said the first blast was caused by a suicide attacker wearing an explosives belt and took place at the entrance of Ziabiyeh district while the second explosion was the result of a suicide attacker in a car rigged with explosives in al-Teen street.
SANA quoted Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi as blaming Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, for being behind the “brutal massacres.” The three countries are main supporters of the Syrian opposition trying to remove President Bashar Assad from power.
Sayyida Zeinab has been a frequent target of suicide and car bombings in Syria’s civil war, now in its sixth year. Some of them have been claimed by the Islamic State group.
On April 25, eight people died when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-packed vehicle at a military checkpoint in the suburb.
In February, a series of blasts ripped through Sayyida Zeinab, killing at least 83 people and wounding more than 170.
