Syria capital cafe blast kills six, wounds 22: reports
According to reports in Syrian state media, a bomb exploded in a crowded cafe in the center of Damascus, killing at least six people and injuring 22 people.
No liability claims immediately emerged.
Syrian state television reported that an explosive device was placed in a cafe near the Palace of Justice in the center of the capital.
According to Syrian state media, Damascus Governor Maher Idlibi said that the explosion was caused by a crudely made improvised explosive device.
Videos circulating on social media showed injured people and blood on the floor of a cafe where the explosion allegedly occurred.
Reuters could not immediately verify the footage.
The attack poses another security challenge for the government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara, who took control after toppling former president Bashar al-Assad in late 2024.
Assad’s overthrow effectively ended the civil war that had been going on for more than 14 years.
Damascus has been the scene of numerous security incidents since then, including a car bomb in front of the defense ministry in May that killed a Syrian soldier and injured at least 18 others.
Although no group has claimed responsibility for Thursday’s explosion, ISIS is trying to take advantage of the security vacuum created by Assad’s ouster by reactivating sleeper cells, recruiting fighters and moving weapons as the new government expands its authority across the country, security officials said.
The militant group announced what it described as a new phase of operations against Sharaa’s government earlier this year.
The group is much weaker than when it controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq before the collapse of its self-declared caliphate in 2019.
But it remains capable of carrying out deadly insurgency-style attacks and is seen by authorities as one of the biggest threats to Syria’s transition.
Sharaa’s other opponents include Assad-era officers and soldiers.
In 2025, Syria was rocked by clashes between new government forces and rebels from Syria’s Alawite minority, and separately between government forces and Druze gunmen.
