BEIRUT: An explosives-laden bus blew up Tuesday in a predominantly pro-government neighborhood of the central Syrian city of Homs that has been repeatedly targeted, killing eight people, state television said.
The attack was claimed shortly afterwards by the Daesh group in a posting by its propaganda agency Amaq on social media channels.
The blast rocked a street in the Akrameh neighborhood mostly inhabited by members of the Alawite minority to which President Bashar Assad belongs.
“The toll in the terrorist explosion on Al-Ahram Street has rising to eight dead and 15 injured,” state television said in a breaking news alert.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said a minibus had blown up on the edge of the Akrameh district.
The attack left the mangled metal carcasses of burnt-out vehicles strewn across the road and shattered windows in buildings on either side of the street.
Shortly afterwards, IS’s propaganda agency Amaq said fighters from the group had been behind the attack.
Akrameh has been hit by several such attacks in the past, the deadliest of which killed nearly 50 schoolchildren in October 2014.
That attack prompted rare demonstrations and the firing of several local security officials.
Security measures were stepped up after the 2014 attack, including with additional checkpoints and roadblocks.
Homs has been fully controlled by Syria’s government since May, when the last rebel fighters in the city were evacuated after a deal with the government overseen by Russia.
Car bomb blast kills eight in Syria’s Homs: state TV
Car bomb blast kills eight in Syria’s Homs: state TV
Military coalition in Yemen condemns attack on commander’s convoy
- Al-Maliki also said the coalition is committed to supporting Yemeni security efforts and pursuing those involved in the attack and bringing them to justice
RIYADH: The Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen condemned on Wednesday an attack that targeted the convoy of a senior commander.
The attack in the Jaoula area of Lahj governorate targeted vehicles under the command of Brigadier General Hamdi Shukri, who heads the second division of the Giants Forces.
Coalition spokesman Major General Turki Al-Maliki said there were numerous deaths injuries and called the ambush “a criminal act that is contrary to all human and moral values.”
He said the coalition, which includes Saudi Arabia, will continue coordinating with the relevant authorities to ensure the security of citizens and maintain stability, Saudi Press Agency reported.
He called for people to work with the Yemeni government and military authorities to confront any sabotage attempts or terrorist operations targeting the security and stability of liberated governorates.
Al-Maliki also said the coalition is committed to supporting Yemeni security efforts and pursuing those involved in the attack and bringing them to justice.
