A pair of car bombings shook the Syrian city of Homs today, killing at least 32 people and wounding 90 others. Reports from the Syrian government referred to at least one of the incidents as a suicide bombing.
This is the second major bombing attack against Homs since this month’s ceasefire deal was signed, which handed the last of the city’s districts back to the military after years under the control of Islamist rebels. ISIS claimed credit for the previous attacks, but so far no one has claimed today’s.
ISIS, interestingly, was not believed to have much of a presence at all in Homs before this previous attack, though the group has established a foothold in the easternmost parts of the Homs Province in recent months. The city, however, has mostly been in the sway of rebels affiliated with al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front and its coalition in Idlib.
The recovery of Homs in the ceasefire deal was a huge boost for the Syrian military, and gave them a better supply line from their power base around Damascus to the contested areas in Aleppo and Idlib Province.