Syria: Islamic State (IS) suicide bombing kills nine police officers in Damascus
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed at least nine people at a police club in the Syrian capital on Tuesday.
The attack occurred in the Masaken Barzeh district in northeastern Damascus. The BBC, quoting activists, reported the dead were police officers and at least 20 other people were injured in the blast, which also damaged a nearby vegetable market.
Syria’s state news agency, SANA — which reported the attack killed three civilians and injured another 14 — quoted Prime Minister Wael al-Halaqi as saying terrorists carried out the “cowardly” attack in response to recent battlefield victories by the Syrian military.
Government troops have pushed back against rebel positions across the country after Russia began conducting airstrikes on behalf of forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in September. Most recently, pro-Assad troops cut off supply lines linking Turkey to the rebel-held city of Aleppo, north of Damascus.