At least 60 killed and dozens wounded in Syria attack as ISIS suicide bombers target military bus outside Damascus near revered Shiite shrine

Dozens killed in suicide blasts near the Shiite shrine of Sayyida Zeinab, south of Syrian capital Damascus
ISIS claimed responsibility for attacks that killed 25 Shiite fighters, among the others, and wounded dozens
Sayyida Zeinab contains grave of a granddaughter of the Prophet Mohammed and is Shiite pilgrimage site
Explosions tore a massive crater in the road and was so powerful that it scorched the facade of a six-storey building
It comes as representatives of Syria’s government and its divided opposition meet in Geneva for peace talks

Bombings claimed by the Islamic State group have killed at least 60 people, including 25 Shiite fighters, and wounded dozens near Syria’s holiest Shiite shrine outside the capital Damascus.

The first blast was caused by a car bomb that went off at a bus station by a public transport garage near the Sayyida Zeinab shrine.

Two suicide bombers then set off their explosive belts when people gathered at the scene, according to official SANA news agency.

Syrian security forces and residents gather at the site of suicide bombings in the area of a revered Shiite shrine in the town of Sayyida Zeinab, on the outskirts of Damascus

The first blast was caused by a car bomb that went off at a bus station by a public transport garage near the Sayyida Zeinab shrine

Two suicide bombers then set off their explosive belts when people gathered at the scene, according to official SANA news agency

‘Bodies were still being pulled from the wreckage,’ a witness told state news channel Ikhbariyah.

The explosion tore a massive crater in the road and was so powerful that it scorched the facade of a six-storey building.

State television showed footage of burning buildings and wrecked cars in the neighbourhood.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack with a statement circulated on social media.

The explosion tore a massive crater in the road and was so powerful that it scorched the facade of a six-storey building

State television showed footage of burning buildings and wrecked cars in the neighbourhood

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the casualties were expected to rise from the attack, which targeted a military bus carrying Shiite militias who were changing guard there

Sayyida Zeinab, south of Damascus, contains the grave of a granddaughter of the Prophet Mohammed and is particularly revered as a pilgrimage site by Shiite Muslims from Iran, Lebanon and Iraq

The Sunni extremist group, which considers Shiite ‘heretics’ and legitimate targets, said two of its members had detonated suicide bombs.

‘Two soldiers of the caliphate carried out martyrdom operations in a den of the infidels in the Sayyida Zeinab area, killing nearly 50 and injuring around 120,’ it said.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the casualties were expected to rise from the attack, which targeted a military bus carrying Shiite militias who were changing guard there.

Sayyida Zeinab, south of Damascus, contains the grave of a granddaughter of the Prophet Mohammed and is particularly revered as a pilgrimage site by Shiite Muslims from Iran, Lebanon and Iraq.

ISIS, which considers Shiite ‘heretics’ and legitimate targets, said two of its members had detonated suicide bombs

A member of the Syrian pro-government forces inspects the damage following suicide bombings in the area

The explosions occurred as representatives of Syria’s government and its divided opposition began convening in Geneva for the first U.N.-mediated peace talks in two years

A portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen at the site of the suicide bombings

The cover of a Koran, Islam’s holy book, is seen in the wreckage of a car following the attack

It is a heavily populated area and has continued to attract pilgrims throughout the five-year-old civil war. It has been targeted by ISIS extremists before, most recently in February last year.

The explosions occurred as representatives of Syria’s government and its divided opposition began convening in Geneva for the first U.N.-mediated peace talks in two years.

Syrian Ambassador Ibrahim Jaafari, head of the government delegation at Geneva, said the blasts in Damascus just confirmed the link between what the government says are a Saudi-led and funded Islamist ‘opposition’ and terrorism.

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This report has been compiled by the national press | NNC Türk

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