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)
TT
20

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.



US Targets Lebanon’s Hezbollah with New Sanctions

FILE - Hezbollah fighters shout slogans during the funeral procession of their top commander Fouad Shukur, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike on July 30, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
FILE - Hezbollah fighters shout slogans during the funeral procession of their top commander Fouad Shukur, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike on July 30, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
TT
20

US Targets Lebanon’s Hezbollah with New Sanctions

FILE - Hezbollah fighters shout slogans during the funeral procession of their top commander Fouad Shukur, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike on July 30, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
FILE - Hezbollah fighters shout slogans during the funeral procession of their top commander Fouad Shukur, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike on July 30, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

The United States targeted two senior Hezbollah officials and two financial facilitators with new sanctions on Thursday for their role in coordinating financial transfers to the Lebanese group that is backed by Iran, the Treasury Department said.

The latest sanctions come as President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States was getting very close to securing a nuclear deal with Iran, and Tehran had "sort of" agreed to the terms.

Trump said Wednesday that he believed the moment was ripe for Lebanon to have a “future free from the grip of Hezbollah terrorists.”

The people targeted were based in Lebanon and Iran and worked to get money to Hezbollah from overseas donors, the department said in a statement.

Treasury said overseas donations make up a significant portion of the group's budget.

Thursday's action highlights Hezbollah's "extensive global reach through its network of terrorist donors and supporters, particularly in Tehran," said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender.

"As part of our ongoing efforts to address Iran’s support for terrorism, Treasury will continue to intensify economic pressure on the key individuals in the Iranian regime and its proxies who enable these deadly activities."