Six killed in bomb blast at shrine near Syrian capital
Image of the site of the bomb blast.
Six people were killed and scores of others wounded in a bomb blast on Thursday (July 27) near the Sayeda Zeinab mausoleum, the most-visited Shiite pilgrimage site in Syria, said the interior ministry.
The blast took place south of Damascus just before the annual commemoration of Ashura, a time when the death of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein in the seventh-century battle is mourned by the Shiites.
Six deaths were recorded by the interior ministry, state news agency SANA reported, revising an earlier toll of five.
More than 20 people were wounded in the attack which the interior ministry said was a "terrorist bombing".
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A source at the nearby Al-Sadr hospital told AFP earlier that the facility had received 10 wounded after a car bombing near the shrine.
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Explosion caused by bomb placed in taxi
State television reported that the explosion was caused by a "bomb placed in a taxi by unidentified people".
"We heard a huge blast and people began to run," said 39-year-old civil servant Ibrahim, while speaking to AFP. "Then ambulances arrived and security forces cordoned off the area," he added.
He stated that the explosion took place "near a security building around 600 metres (yards) from the mausoleum of Sayeda Zeinab", who was Prophet Mohammed's granddaughter and the daughter of Imam Ali, a founding figure of Shiite Islam.
Security measures were tightened by the authorities around the mausoleum for the commemoration of the 10-day Ashura, the most important in Shiite Islam.
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On Tuesday (July 25), an explosion took place in a car in the same area in which two civilians were wounded, a security official was quoted as saying by the official media.
During the civil war of the country which erupted in 2011, the Sayeda Zeinab mausoleum was hit by several deadly bombings. Since then the mosque complex, featuring a gold dome and turquoise ceramics in the Iranian style, has been defended by Shiite militiamen, mostly Iraqi and Lebanese along with the army.
In recent years, the attacks have declined with some of the security measures relaxed.
(With inputs from agencies)
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