ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The death toll from Thursday's “terrorist attack” on a cafe in central Damascus has risen to nine, with tens more injured, Syria's interior ministry said in a Friday statement, suggesting the assault was carried out using a shrapnel-packed explosive device.
“A terrorist explosion occurred targeting one of the cafes on al-Nasr Street near the Palace of Justice in Damascus” at 3 pm local time on Thursday, the statement read, adding that “the explosion resulted in the martyrdom of nine citizens and the injury of 20 others, in addition to causing material damage at the crime scene.”
The interior ministry noted that preliminary investigations “show the explosion resulted from an improvised explosive device [IED] weighing approximately one kilogram, which was packed with metal shrapnel, leading to severe injuries and significant damage at the site.”
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported Thursday that “the injuries ranged from minor to moderate and critical.”
Since the December 2024 ouster of longtime Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, the new leadership in Damascus, led by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, has faced a series of security challenges and insurgent incidents as it works to stabilize the country.
In May, a Syrian Arab Army soldier was killed in a targeted car bombing in Damascus's Old City district.
The deadliest incident since Assad's fall, however, was the late June 2025 suicide attack on the Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus during a Sunday service, which killed at least 25 people and injured over 60 others. Syrian authorities pointed to Islamic State (ISIS) involvement in that attack.
Syrian authorities on Friday vowed that the perpetrators behind Thursday's attack and their backers "will be pursued until they are brought to justice, and no one involved will escape accountability," affirming that "state institutions will remain steadfast in fulfilling their duty to protect the security and stability of citizens."
