A suicide car bombing in one of the most secure parts of Damascus has killed at least 10 people and wounded dozens more, with a report from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights saying eight of the slain were police, along with 20 of the wounded.
ISIS claimed credit for the attack, which is the first time they’ve formally claimed credit for a strike within Damascus itself, though they’ve claimed strikes on the outskirts and been blamed for other strikes within the city.
This bombing, according to ISIS, was carried out by a member identified as Abu Abdul-Rahman al-Shami, who detonated the car in front of the Damascus Police Officers’ Club. In addition to the casualties, a number of cars were destroyed in the attack.
ISIS has relied on car bombings both to attack targets away from the front lines of the war, as well as carrying out attacks to soften up defensive forces in the prelude of a full ground offensive. ISIS promised more strikes against Syrian police forces.