Damascus bus blast injures security forces, SANA says

An explosive device targeted a bus carrying Syrian Internal Security Forces personnel near Damascus on Saturday, injuring several passengers, Syrian state news agency SANA said.

SANA said the blast hit the bus on the Maarounah–al-Tal road in Damascus countryside. It said authorities were investigating and working to identify those responsible.

The agency published pictures showing a badly damaged bus at the side of a road, with windows and one door blown out and glass scattered on the front seat.

Syria's Islamist authorities have faced security challenges since longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad was overthrown in late 2024. Damascus and its suburbs have seen multiple attacks. Earlier in August, a bus blast wounded 14 people in Jaramana, near Damascus. In July, two blasts near a hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron had been staying killed one person and wounded 36 others; authorities later said they had arrested people responsible and that they were part of the Islamic State group.