back deadly explosions rattle residents.
East Africa News
Damascus, Syria – Authorities have tightened security across Damascus following a series of bomb blasts that have shaken the Syrian capital and tested the limits of the country’s transitional government.
The Ministry of Interior implemented a series of precautionary protective measures, including heavily armed patrols, following a deadly explosion at a cafe on July 2 and a twin bombing on Tuesday during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Checkpoints have been re-established at critical intersections across the city, while key government buildings, judicial institutions and foreign diplomatic sites have been granted extended exclusion zones, reinforced by concrete blast walls and mandatory vehicle searches.
Regional Impact
In the latest attack, two improvised explosive devices – one hidden in a roadside rubbish bin and another rigged inside a parked car – detonated at approximately 10:15am (07:15 GMT) while bomb disposal teams were preparing to defuse them.
At least one person was killed and 36 were wounded in the highly coordinated attack that took place relatively close to the hotel where Macron had spent the night, but outside the security perimeter designated for the French delegation and posed “no direct threat” to the president, according to authorities.
Special security units have since launched sweeping field operations, utilising localised surveillance footage to track the ownership of the vehicle used in the bombing and scanning urban infrastructure for potential secondary devices.
Analysis
“Checkpoints and patrols may help people feel safer, but preventing this type of attack requires intelligence work, mapping networks, monitoring explosive materials, improving information sharing and building cooperation with local communities,” said Navvar Saban, a researcher in security and military affairs at the Arab Center for Contemporary Studies in Syria.
Speaking at the scene of the attack, Interior Ministry spokesperson Nureddin al-Baba said the explosions posed “no direct threat” to Macron and confirmed authorities had already identified possible perpetrators, without elaborating. “A short while ago, we discovered an initial lead pointing to those responsible,” he said.
Officials pointed to similarities with last week’s powerful explosion at a busy central cafe frequented by lawyers and clerks from the adjacent Palace of Justice that killed at least 10 people and wounded dozens more.
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