Suicide Blast Hits Damascus

Al-Nusra Front (ANF), the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, today claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a regime-controlled neighborhood in Damascus, AFP reported.

AFP quoted a Syrian security official as saying that on Monday morning, a group of insurgents on motorcycles attacked Rukn Al-Din neighborhood and detonated a suicide bomb when Syrian security forces came near.

The neighborhood is well guarded and is home to many military officers. The attack took place near a military building used by the army’s logistics directorate.

“With the help of God, three of our lions were able to infiltrate the logistics building,” ANF posted on twitter. (AFP, 4 May)

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the blast has wounded General Mohammad Eid, the commanding general of Syrian army logistics.

The ability of Al-Nusra to penetrate one of the safest neighborhoods in Damascus, not far from the Presidential Palace, and launch an attack and detonated a bomb inside an army building is very concerning. ANF and its allies have in recent weeks captured practically all of Idilb province and are threatening a highway that links Idilb with Latakia, the principal seaport in the country.

Photo credit: Photo released by official Syrian news ageny SANA shows damaged cars and a motorcycle after a bombing attack in Ruk al-Din neighborhood of Damascus, 4 May 2015 (AP)