The blasts occurred near the Bab al-Saghir cemetery in the Old City. The Syrian authorities classified the explosions as a terrorist attack, according to SANA news agency. Iran's Press TV said the death toll has climbed to 40. Over 100 people were wounded.
Horrible news: 40 civilians killed, & 120+ injured after twin suicide bombing attack targeted Shia pilgrims in Al-Shaghour #Damascus #Syria
— H e b a (@HKX07) 11 марта 2017 г.
Imagen inmediatamente posterior al ataque suicida sufrido en #Damascus en el que han sido asesinados y heridos un gran número de civiles pic.twitter.com/Fpwlwm2J72
— Esperanza (@pechosboys) 11 марта 2017 г.
A Syrian security source told Sputnik most of the wounded persons had been hospitalized and were undergoing treatment. Some messages suggested the blasts targeted a number of Shia pilgrims from Iraq.
The Bab al-Saghir is an important Shiite site as it contains the remains of those killed in the Battle of Karbala between the Umayyads and supporters of Husayn ibn Ali, the third Shiite imam.
On Friday, militants fired a rocket at Damascus. It inflicted damage on infrastructure.
Since 2011, Syria has been engulfed in a civil war, with government forces fighting against numerous opposition and terrorist groups, including al-Nusra Front and Daesh, banned in a range of countries, including Russia.
