Damascus cafe bombing kills at least six near courthouse
A blast at a busy cafe in central Damascus wounded 22 and raised new security concerns around Syria’s post-Assad transition.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
A bomb exploded inside a crowded cafe in central Damascus on Thursday, killing at least six people and injuring 22, Al Jazeera reported. The attack struck close to the Palace of Justice, a courthouse now linked to sensitive trials from Syria’s former government.
Al Jazeera said the blast hit a popular cafe on Al-Nasr Street in the al-Hijaz district, roughly 100 metres from the courthouse’s main entrance. Security sources told the network that a person entered the cafe, put an improvised explosive device beneath a table and left.
The same security sources said the person may have been trying to reach the Palace of Justice for further attacks. Osama Atika, the internal security commander in Damascus, and Interior Ministry officers went to the site after the explosion to begin an investigation, according to Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera correspondent Obaida Hitto, reporting from the area, said the cafe draws lawyers, court staff and visitors. He said casualties were higher because the blast occurred in a busy part of the capital.
Officials warned that the toll could rise because several of the wounded at Al-Mouwasa Hospital had serious injuries, Al Jazeera reported. Syrian security forces secured the area near the courthouse after the bombing.
No claim of responsibility
Al Jazeera reported that no group had claimed responsibility for the attack. Damascus Governor Maher Marwan said hostile actors were trying to undermine the country, and said those responsible for Syrian bloodshed would be held to account.
Analysts cited by Al Jazeera said the bombing exposed a serious gap in security in the centre of the capital. They also said such an attack was not unexpected because Syria’s new authorities face a range of opponents after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024.
The Palace of Justice has been holding trials of senior figures connected to the previous government, Al Jazeera reported. Those cases include Atef Najib, a former security chief accused of torturing schoolboys in Deraa in 2011, an episode widely linked to the start of Syria’s uprising.
Al Jazeera also reported that militia commander Wassim al-Assad and former Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun have recently appeared for trial at the courthouse. Political analyst Kamal Abdo told Al Jazeera from Idlib that remnants of the former government were angered by the proceedings.
Abdo said as many as 10,000 people tied to the former government remain at large. He identified them as former military officers, Ba’ath Party officials, Shabiha militia remnants and intelligence personnel, and said they had long experience carrying out such attacks.
Part of a wider security strain
Thursday’s bombing followed other recent attacks in Damascus, according to Al Jazeera. A May 19 car bombing near the Armament Management centre in Bab Sharqi killed a soldier and injured 18 people.
Al Jazeera also cited a June 22 attack on the Mar Elias church in Dwelaa, which it said was claimed by ISIL, also known as ISIS. Marwan acknowledged that Syria would need time to reach stability, while saying the Interior Ministry had improved security since the former government’s collapse.
Abdo told Al Jazeera that the new administration had been effective in imposing security, but he warned that the state still faced a large task in preventing similar attacks. The Damascus blast placed that challenge within sight of one of the country’s most politically sensitive courthouses.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.