A bomb explodes in a crowded café in central Damascus, killing six and wounding 22, as Syrian state media reports.
The interior ministry said the device was planted inside the café, which sits a mere 100 metres from the Palace of Justice in the Hejaz district.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. Authorities suspect the Islamic State (IS) group, despite a shadowy jihadist group previously blamed for a 2025 church attack.
Damascus Governor Maher Marwan Idlibi visited the scene and pledged that those responsible would be punished, warning that "malicious parties constantly try to destabilise the country whenever it appears stable."
The shop owner next door, Mohammed al‑Dahabi, described the blast as reminiscent of attacks during the civil war, noting the shock and the sight of wounded bodies strewn across the terrace.
Graphic video footage circulating on social media showed men lying motionless on the floor, further illustrating the severity of the incident.
The bombing is the deadliest in Damascus since the June 2025 suicide attack that killed 25 people, underscoring the ongoing security challenges that persist in Syria after the fall of Bashar al‑Assad’s regime in 2024.
