Rebels Bring War Back to Damascus with Double Suicide Bombing

No Claims of Responsibility After Major Strike

A pair of suicide bombers targeted a police station in a shopping district in central Damascus today, killing at least 14 people and wounding 31 other. The explosions did major damage to shops in the surrounding area.

The attack was near Martyrs Square, which has been regularly targeted over the course of the ongoing Syrian Civil War, but it is the first strike in six weeks, as fighting has mostly taken place outside of Damascus.

So far there has been no claim of responsibility by any particular rebel faction, but suicide bombings have been a common tactic of Jabhat al-Nusra, which has also shown a particular interest for carrying out attacks in the capital city.

Syrian officials said that the attack made them more determined than ever to move against the rebels in the northern city of Aleppo, saying they believe they have the momentum to oust them from the key industrial hub.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.