ISIS has claimed responsibility for the May 10 Damascus blast, which claimed the lives of two police officers and wounded several others.
The blast destroyed a vehicle inside Barzeh Police Department, which is located in one of the Syrian capital’s highly-secured neighborhoods. Initially, the interior ministry said that a police officer was killed and four others were wounded. The next day, May 11, one of the wounded officers succumbed to his wounds, according to the ministry.
In a statement released by its official news agency, Amaq, ISIS said that its members had “managed to plant and detonate an explosive device on a vehicle inside the police station”.
The terrorist attack coincided with the arrival of Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Jordan, Nayef bin Bandar al-Sudairi, in Damascus to deliver an official invitation to President Bashar al-Assad to the upcoming Arab League summit in the kingdom.
Syria was readmitted into the organization last week, in a step that marked the de-facto end of the country’s Arab isolation.
ISIS maintains some presence around the Syrian capital. Last October, a bomb exploded on a military bus near Damascus, killing at least 18 soldiers and wounding 27 others. The attack was blamed on the terrorist group, which didn’t claim responsibility at the time.
The group is likely trying to disturb security at Damascus to hinder Syrian government efforts to reclaim regional and international status.
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