The devices exploded on a military bus as it was passing near a bridge in the capital

Terrorist Attack in Damascus Leaves at Least 14 Dead

photo_camera AFP/SANA - Images of the attack in Baghdad

According to military sources, two bombs exploded at around 6:45 this morning, killing 14 people and injuring several others. The devices were placed under a military transport bus and detonated as it passed near the President's Bridge in Damascus.

Officials have already confirmed that it was a terrorist act, although it is not yet known which group may have perpetrated it. The third device, planted for the same purpose, was defused by a unit of army engineers. This latest attack is one of a long list of attacks by jihadist groups against members of the army. 
 

autobus-atentado-siria

According to military sources, two bombs exploded at around 6:45 this morning, killing 14 people and injuring several others. The devices were placed under a military transport bus and detonated as it passed near the President's Bridge in Damascus.

Officials have already confirmed that it was a terrorist act, although it is not yet known which group may have perpetrated it. The third device, planted for the same purpose, was defused by a unit of army engineers. This latest attack is one of a long list of attacks by jihadist groups against members of the army. 

damasco-atentado-autobus

After the defeat of its supposed caliphate, Daesh is now trying to rebuild it by activating its sleeper cells. The camps of al-Hol and al-Roj, controlled by Kurdish-Syrian militias, are home to tens of thousands of jihadist families and have become a hotbed for recruiting new jihadists. The terrorists' power has reached such a level that they have managed to create a kind of Caliphate in the camp itself, which holds 64,000 women and children in captivity.

In this attempt, the radicals have succeeded in setting up hisba units, which translates into religious police, as well as a women's wing belonging to the Al-Khansaa group, a female operative arm in charge of imposing punishments on women who do not comply with dress codes or do not follow the caliphate's mandates. 

fuerzas-democraticas-siria

It is here that the Kurds have been involved in major counter-terrorism operations after receiving US military training and arsenal. In these operations, militiamen have managed to arrest suspected Daesh members, as well as seize military uniforms, computer equipment and mobile phones containing Daesh information, which may provide clues as to whether the group has managed to contact members abroad.

In the northwest of Syria, in Idlib, an uphill battle against jihadist terrorism continues to be waged as some areas of the region are home to jihadists who moved north as a result of the group's fall and Al-Assad's recapture of the territory. Turkey also continues to maintain a significant presence in the area, carrying out offensives against Kurdish militias that are also in the area. 

campos-refugiados-alhol

Also in Idlib, joint Syrian-Russian operations continue to attack areas controlled by rebel positions, thus breaking the ceasefire agreed in 2020.

 Refugees in Syria suspected of being jihadists

Human rights organisations such as Amnesty International have reported that Syrian security forces have subjected Syrian returnees to arbitrary detention and torture following the end of the civil war. In a report entitled "You are going to your death", the organisation denounces a series of violations committed against 66 returnees, including 13 children.

Refugee human rights researcher Marie Forestier told the organisation that "The Assad government has tried to present Syria as a country on the mend. The reality is that the Syrian authorities continue to perpetrate the widespread and systematic human rights violations that contributed to millions of people seeking safety outside the country".

guerra-siria-edificios

On the other hand, the fight against terrorism in the country continues unabated. Last September, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad pledged before the UN Assembly that the "noble fight" continues until "all terrorists are eliminated".

He also said that "the doors are wide open for all refugees who want to return to the country" and that the relevant institutions continue to work to "facilitate the return of people". 

Syria is trying to rebuild and stand on its own two feet after a civil war that has left some 400,000 people dead, many of them civilians. This conflict has been one of the most dramatic of our century and its aftermath continues to be felt by a society that is trying to build itself up in a climate marked by economic crisis, scarcity of resources and, of course, the atrocious terrorism that managed to survive after the end of the conflict.
 

More in Politics