Syria: Islamic State claims attacks near Damascus shrine

A website linked to IS claimed three deadly explosions that rocked the area near the Sayyida Zaynab shrine in southern Damascus, killing and injuring scores of people.

MENA

1 min read

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31 January, 2016

The attackers detonated a car bomb at a bus station [AFP/Getty]

At least 71 people were killed and 40 others wounded in a triple bombing attack near the Sayyida Zaynab shrine in southern Damascus.

The attackers detonated a car bomb at a bus station, followed by two blasts set off by suicide bombers as rescuers rushed to the scene of the first explosion, Syrian Arab News Agency said.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks.

"Operations were conducted by fighters of the Islamic State group in Sayyida Zaynab district," the IS-affiliated Amaq News Agency reported.

The shrine is said to contain the tomb of Zaynab bint Ali, one of the Prophet Mohammad's grand-daughters, and is a popular site for Shia pilgrimage even during the civil war.

The town, located 10 kilometres south of the capital Damascus, is controlled by Syrian regime forces and in 2012 with the pretext of protecting holy shrines following the start of the civil war in 2011.