On Thursday, the Syrian Ministry of the Interior announced the death of a second police officer, as a result of an explosion that targeted a vehicle in a police station in Damascus, which was claimed by the Islamic State.
The Ministry of Interior reported on its Telegram account that a lieutenant from the Damascus Police Command was “martyred” in a vehicle explosion in Barzeh Police Station.
On Thursday, the Foreign Ministry announced the death of a lieutenant colonel and the injury of four other policemen as a result of the explosion.
On Thursday, the two dead were spread to their final resting place in the southern governorates of As-Suwayda and Quneitra.
On Wednesday, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the bombing, in a statement carried by jihadist accounts on the Telegram application.
It has become rare for the jihadist organization to claim responsibility for carrying out similar attacks in the Syrian capital.
During the years of the ongoing conflict since 2011, Damascus witnessed huge explosions, most of which were claimed by jihadist organizations.
However, this type of explosions decreased significantly after the government forces managed, since 2018, to control neighborhoods in the capital that were controlled by the Islamic State, and areas near it that were considered a stronghold for the opposition factions.
Despite this, Damascus witnesses occasional explosions limited by explosive devices placed in civilian or military cars, without the background, reasons, or party responsible being clear. They are often linked, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, to personal disputes or settling scores.
On the 2nd of April, an explosive device placed in a civilian car exploded in the Al-Mazzeh neighborhood, injuring two people, according to the official media at the time, without clarifying the circumstances of the incident.
Since 2011, Syria has been witnessing a bloody conflict, which has caused the death of more than half a million people, widespread destruction of infrastructure, and led to the displacement of more than half of the population inside and outside the country.
