Syria’s al-Qaeda-backed Jabhat al-Nusra rebels have issued a statement today publicly claiming credit for the weekend suicide bombings against Damascus, which killed at least five people according to media accounts.
The five people were killed when seven Jabhat al-Nusra fighters wearing suicide vests tried to break into the Rukneddine police station in northern Damascus, and failing to do so started detonating out front.
Nusra released photographs of the apparent attackers and said the strike proved that their fighters “do not fear any confrontation with the enemies,” though it isn’t clear how much confrontation there actually was, as the fighters detonated without being able to get inside the police station.
Nusra has regularly used suicide bombings as a go-to tactic, and its fighters have proven to be the most effective front-line force of the Syrian rebels. Though the US is openly backing the rebels, they consider Jabhat al-Nusra a terrorist organization, and have promised to try to keep the weapons they ship to the rebels from specifically reaching them.