Syria bus blast toll revised to 14 injured, no dead

Syria revised the toll from a bus explosion in Jaramana, near Damascus, to 14 injured and no deaths, after initially reporting two people killed.

The blast ripped through a minibus on Thursday in the town, which is home to Christian and Druze communities. State TV said it was a bomb, citing an official source.

The health ministry had first reported two deaths and 13 wounded. In the early hours of Friday, health ministry official Toufic Hasaba told state TV that the final toll was 14 injuries, with three people in critical condition. The interior ministry reported the same toll.

The earlier death toll was changed after material first identified as human remains was later determined to belong to injured victims.

The interior ministry said specialised units secured the scene, collected evidence and were investigating the circumstances of the crime and those responsible.

Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said on X overnight that attacks on civilians and attempts to undermine security would not stop Syrians from continuing what he called recovery and state-building. He said state institutions would continue to protect citizens and pursue those responsible.

Jaramana has suffered several incidents of sectarian violence since the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024. Syria's Islamist authorities have faced security challenges since overthrowing Assad, with Damascus and its suburbs seeing multiple attacks and incidents targeting civilians.