Syria flag (flickr).
On October 13, at least 18 service members of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) were killed and 27 others were wounded when a blast hit a military bus in the western outskirts of the Syrian capital, Damascus.
In a statement to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency, an unnamed official of the SAA said that the deadly blast was caused by an improvised explosive device. The victims of the attack were all reportedly serving in the ranks of the SAA’s elite 4th Division. The blast took place near a key base of the division’s in the As’Saboura town.
This was the deadliest terrorist attack to take place in Damascus and its outskirts this year. Similar attacks in past years have killed and wounded dozens of SAA service members in government-held parts of Syria.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, yet. Previous similar attacks were carried out by al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, Horas al-Din and ISIS.
The terrorist attack was apparently carried out to disturb security in the Syrian capital and intimidate SAA troops. Syrian authorities will likely step up security measures in the capital and its outskirts in response to the terrorist attack. More information on the attack could surface in the upcoming few days.
