Deadly Car Bomb Rocks Damascus Suburb

This image released by the Syrian television on their Telegram channel shows people gathering at the site of an explosion in the town of Sayida Zeinab on the outskirts of Damascus on July 27, 2023. (Photo by SYRIAN TV / AFP)
This image released by the Syrian television on their Telegram channel shows people gathering at the site of an explosion in the town of Sayida Zeinab on the outskirts of Damascus on July 27, 2023. (Photo by SYRIAN TV / AFP)
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Deadly Car Bomb Rocks Damascus Suburb

This image released by the Syrian television on their Telegram channel shows people gathering at the site of an explosion in the town of Sayida Zeinab on the outskirts of Damascus on July 27, 2023. (Photo by SYRIAN TV / AFP)
This image released by the Syrian television on their Telegram channel shows people gathering at the site of an explosion in the town of Sayida Zeinab on the outskirts of Damascus on July 27, 2023. (Photo by SYRIAN TV / AFP)

An explosive planted in a taxi Thursday detonated in a Damascus suburb near the Sayida Zeinab shrine, and there were reports of several casualties.

The Britain-based opposition war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 10 people were killed or wounded in the explosion.

The Observatory said a woman was among those who died and that her three children were wounded. The Observatory added that the explosion took place close to positions of Iranian militias.

In a video shared on social media, people carried two men covered in blood and dust off the ground while calling for help. The glass facades of shops nearby had shattered, while one was on fire.

Earlier this week, two people were wounded in a separate blast outside the shrine.



Blinken Speaks to Israel’s Dermer about Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

 A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
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Blinken Speaks to Israel’s Dermer about Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

 A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the importance of improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza in a meeting with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer in Washington on Monday, the State Department said.

Dermer updated Blinken on operational changes and policy decisions taken by Israel in response to a US letter sent in October, the department said in a statement on Tuesday.

Blinken "emphasized the importance of ensuring those changes lead to an actual improvement in the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, including through the delivery of additional assistance to civilians throughout Gaza," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in the statement.