DAMASCUS, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Syrian authorities on Friday said they had foiled an attempt to bomb a passenger bus in a Damascus suburb, the latest in a series of security incidents that have shaken the capital and its outskirts in recent days.
State-run al-Ikhbariya TV reported that security forces discovered an explosive device planted inside a bus in the al-Wurud neighborhood northwest of Damascus before it could detonate.
Engineering teams safely dismantled and removed the device without causing damage.
The attempted bombing came after three security personnel were wounded in an attack on Friday at a checkpoint in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana.
According to state news agency SANA, two men on a motorcycle were stopped for a routine identity check before one of them threw two hand grenades at security personnel, injuring three officers. Authorities have not announced whether the suspects were apprehended.
On Thursday, a bombing in a cafe near the Justice Palace in central Damascus, killed nine people and injured 20 others. The interior authorities described the incident as a terrorist attack involving an improvised explosive device weighing about one kilogram and packed with metal fragments. Forensic teams were reviewing surveillance footage and interviewing witnesses, the authorities said.
No group has claimed responsibility for any of the three incidents, and authorities have not indicated whether they are connected.
The back-to-back incidents came as Syrian authorities continue efforts to maintain stability after the political transition that followed the collapse of the previous administration in late 2024.■
