Twin bombings near Damascus kill eight, injure 25

Published June 11th, 2016 - 11:00 GMT
Syrians gather at the scene of a double bombing attack on June 11, 2016 outside the Sayyida Zeinab shrine, which is revered by Shiites around the world, some ten kilometres south of the centre of Damascus, in the latest in repeated deadly strikes on the revered site, state media said. (AFP/Stringer
Syrians gather at the scene of a double bombing attack on June 11, 2016 outside the Sayyida Zeinab shrine, which is revered by Shiites around the world, some ten kilometres south of the centre of Damascus, in the latest in repeated deadly strikes on the revered site, state media said. (AFP/Stringer

Twin blasts in a Damascus suburb have killed eight people and injured 25 others on Saturday, according to the Syrian official news agency (SANA).

The agency reported that the first attack was by a suicide bomber near a check point in al-Sayyida Zeinab district, south of capital Damascus, and the second was a car bomb in the same area.

The Syrian regime-controlled area is part of the Damascus countryside and hosts the Shia-revered shrine of Zeinab, the daughter of Ali ibn Abi Talib, who was the cousin of Islam's Prophet Muhammad and the fourth leader (caliph) of Muslims after Muhammad's death.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Lebanese militia Hezbollah, who both support the Syrian regime, also have heavy presence in the area which has been targeted several times this year by attacks that have killed more than 150 people.

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