Click to see full-size image. Source: the Syrian Ministry of Interior.
At least six people were killed as a result of the bombing that rocked the Shia shrine town of Sayyidah Zaynab near the Syrian capital, Damascus, on July 27, just a day ahead of Ashura -a day of mourning observed by Shia Muslims-, according to Syrian state media.
In a statement, Syrian Health Minister Hassan al-Ghabash said that 26 people wounded in the blast in Sayyidah Zaynab were being treated at several hospitals. Twenty others were treated on site or discharged, the minister added.
The London-based opposition war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that a woman was among those who died and that her three children were wounded.
Authorities had initially said the bomb was hidden in a taxi, but later reported that the explosives were on a motorcycle that exploded next to the cab.
The Sabreen News channel on Telegram reported that the bombing took place near the headquarters of Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas, an Iraqi Shia armed group that was formed in the early years of the Syrian war to guard Sayyidah Zaynab and support government forces.
The town, which is located some 16 kilometers to the south of Damascus, is named after the shrine for Sayida Zeinab, the granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad and the daughter of Imam Ali.
Ashoura is the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram, which is one of the holiest months for Shiite Muslims. It marks the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Imam Hussein, and his 72 companions in the battle of Karbala in the 7th century in present-day Iraq. Ashoura marks the peak of the mourning procession.
The explosion was the second in the Sayida Zeinab neighborhood in the days leading to Ashoura. Two days earlier, two civilians were wounded when a booby-trapped motorcycle exploded near a bus in the town.
In the early years of the war in Syria several terrorist groups, including the al-Qaed-affiliated al-Nusra Front -now known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham-, attempted to capture Sayyidah Zaynab. Later on, the town was targeted by several bombings. During 2016, three bombings by ISIS claimed the lives of more than 200 people.
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