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Double suicide attack kills 40 in Damascus
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Twin kabooms Saturday near religious shrines frequented by Shiite pilgrims in the Syrian capital Damascus killed at least 40 Iraqis, Syria’s interior minister and media reported.

Syria State TV aired footage from the scene showing blood-soaked streets and several damaged buses in a parking lot, apparently where the kabooms went off near Bab al-Saghir cemetery. The cemetery is one of the capital’s most ancient and is where several prominent religious figures are buried.

Interior Minister Mohammed al-Shaar visited the injured in local hospitals. He said 40 were killed and 120 were maimed. He said the attacks targeted civilians, including Arab visitors, who were frequenting the shrines in the area. He didn’t elaborate, but Iraqi Shiites often visit shrines in Syria. Iranians and other Shiites from Asia are often also among the pilgrims to the area.

There were conflicting reports on what caused the kabooms. State news agency SANA said the blasts were caused by bombs placed near the cemetery and that at least 33 were killed and more than a hundred maimed.

Leb’s al-Manar TV quoted Syrian officials saying twin suicide kabooms killed 40. Arab TV al-Mayadeen said at least 40 were killed, and the area was sealed by security after the kabooms.
Update from the Times of Israel on March 15, 2017:
The blast follows twin attacks on Saturday that killed at least 40 people in Damascus. That attack was claimed by the Syria’s al-Qaeda branch, formerly known as the Nusra Front.
Posted by: Fred 2017-03-12
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=483186