Mourners in Damascus carried coffins through the Midan neighborhood on Friday, a day after an explosive device detonated in a cafe near the city's main judicial complex, killing nine people and wounding 20 others. The funeral procession honored three of the blast victims, including Fathi Muhammad Saeed Qabbani, a married father of one son who worked at a nearby shop and was passing by the cafe at the moment of the explosion.
Details of the Attack
The explosion occurred on Thursday at a popular cafe frequented by lawyers, located near the capital's main courthouse. Syrian officials have promised to arrest those responsible, but no updates on the investigation have been announced. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Bahaa Qabbani, brother of the deceased Fathi Qabbani, described the perpetrators as “a group of terrorists who are against the homeland” and called on security forces to “take hold of the country with an iron fist.”
Security Incidents Continue
On Friday, Syria's state-run news agency SANA reported that three members of security forces were wounded in an attack on a checkpoint at the entrance to the Damascus suburb of Jaramana. A man on a motorcycle threw two hand grenades at the checkpoint guards and attempted to throw a third, which exploded in his hand, killing him. Another person was arrested in connection with that attack.
Since overthrowing the Assad dynasty and taking power in a lightning insurgency in December 2024, Syria's new rulers have struggled to exert control across the country and to check extremist groups. Deadly attacks blamed on the Daesh group have targeted religious minorities, including a suicide attack on a church in a Damascus suburb and a bomb set off in a mosque in a predominantly Alawite area in the city of Homs.
