BEIRUT: The militant Islamic State group (IS) said on Friday it was behind a bombing in the Syrian capital the day before that killed six people and wounded 20.

Thursday’s explosion was near the Sayeda Zeinab mausoleum in Damascus, Syria’s most revered site, and came on the eve of Ashura.

In a statement on the Telegram messaging app, the militant group said some of its fighters breached tight security “imposed by the Syrian government and militias” guarding the mausoleum area.

It said “they (IS fighters) were able to park and detonate a motorcycle bomb … during a gathering of pilgrims”.

The authorities had tightened security measures around the mausoleum for Muharram.

In the same message on Friday, IS claimed “another bomb attack” it said had targeted “a bus transporting pilgrims in the same area, wounding at least two and destroying the vehicle”.

On Tuesday, an explosion in a car in the same area of the Syrian capital had wounded two civilians, official media cited a security official as saying.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2023