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Agence France-Presse

A bomb blast rocked a cafe in Syria’s capital Damascus on Thursday, killing nine people and wounding 20, authorities said, in the latest challenge for the country’s Islamist leaders as they seek stability after more than a decade of war.
The bombing – the deadliest since a suicide attack on a church last year – was not immediately claimed.
It took place near the capital’s Palace of Justice, a key government building, sparking scenes of panic in the busy area.
“The explosion that occurred in a cafe near the Palace of Justice in Damascus resulted from an explosive device planted in the location,” state television said.
The “improvised explosive device” contained metal fragments, which caused “severe injuries and significant damage”, the interior ministry wrote on Telegram.
Investigators were reviewing surveillance footage, speaking to witnesses and collecting forensic evidence from the scene, the ministry said.

Nour Khayyat, 40, who owns a shop selling batteries for solar panels near the site, said that “at about 3pm, I heard a powerful blast and the storefront shook”.
“People rushed to the cafe and called ambulances,” he added.
Mohammed al-Dahabi, the owner of a glasses shop next to the cafe, was trembling as he described the explosion: “I felt strong pressure, and the whole place shook”.
“I ran to the place and saw people lying on the floor with blood pooled around them everywhere,” he added, saying the scenes recalled the bombings Damascus experienced during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war.
Arriving at the scene, Damascus governor Maher Eldibi said authorities had launched an investigation.
“Those responsible for this bloodshed will be punished,” he said.

“Each time the country sees a period of stability, malicious parties try to destabilise it.”
The UN’s deputy special envoy for Syria, Claudio Cordone, said on X that the perpetrators “should be brought to justice”.
Turkey, which has close ties with Syria’s Islamist authorities, also condemned the attack and vowed to “maintain its solidarity with Syria throughout this process”, according to a foreign ministry statement.
Several Arab countries also condemned the attack, including Iraq, Jordan, Qatar and Egypt.
The Arab League and the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council slammed the “terrorist bombing”.
Since the toppling of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Syria’s new authorities led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa have sought to exercise full control, restore security and reunify the country.
Damascus has been the site of multiple attacks and incidents since the new authorities took over.
The deadliest came in June 2025, when an attack on a Damascus church killed 25 people.
The suicide attack was later claimed by a Sunni Islamist group, while the authorities blamed it on Islamic State.
More recently, there have been other incidents, including the killing in May of a soldier in a car bombing in Damascus’s Old City.


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World

Deadliest attack in the Syrian capital since last year’s church bombing targets busy area near the Palace of Justice


Deadliest attack in the Syrian capital since last year’s church bombing targets busy area near the Palace of Justice.


Syria

Islamic militancy

Terrorism

Ahmed al-Sharaa

Bomb blast at Damascus cafe kills 9 near key government building

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Deadliest attack in the Syrian capital since last year’s church bombing targets busy area near the Palace of Justice

Deadliest attack in the Syrian capital since last year’s church bombing targets busy area near the Palace of Justice