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Syria’s interior ministry reported that nine people died and 20 others suffered injuries when a bomb exploded inside a popular cafe on al-Nasser Street in the Hejaz district of central Damascus on Thursday afternoon. Syrian state television stated that an explosive device had been planted at the location, only 100 metres from the Palace of Justice, a major government building. Emergency services rushed to the scene where footage showed damaged furniture and blood on the floor, according to multiple regional outlets that published images from the site. The health ministry confirmed that victims were transferred to nearby hospitals including al-Mujtahid as authorities sealed off the area for investigation.
The blast ranks among the deadliest in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces overthrew longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Al Jazeera reported in its coverage of ongoing instability. Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has worked to consolidate control amid repeated bouts of sectarian violence involving Alawite and Druze communities, according to assessments published by Reuters. Syrian authorities have faced criticism for failing to prevent such attacks as the country attempts to rebuild following more than a decade of civil war, a Reuters dispatch noted on Thursday.
Jordan, Qatar, Egypt and Iraq joined in condemning the bombing, Anadolu Agency reported hours after the explosion. The statements described the attack as an attempt to undermine Syria’s fragile stability during its political transition. Arab states expressed solidarity with the Syrian people and called for those responsible to be brought to justice, the Turkish news outlet added in its dispatch from the region.
Security sources told Al Jazeera that a suspect may have entered the cafe, left an improvised explosive device under a table and departed, possibly with the intention of targeting the nearby courthouse as well. No group had claimed responsibility for the bombing by late Thursday, according to both Reuters and Al Jazeera correspondents monitoring the aftermath. Syrian state media emphasised that investigations continued into the precise circumstances of the attack.
The incident follows a pattern of violence that has persisted since the fall of the Assad government, with earlier attacks including a suicide bombing at a Damascus church in June 2025 that killed 25 people, the BBC noted in its reporting on Thursday’s events. Jihadist factions have operated in parts of the country despite efforts by the new authorities to impose order, according to analysts cited by Al Jazeera. The bombing underscored the challenges facing security forces as they seek to protect civilian areas in the capital.
Initial casualty counts varied as the toll rose through the afternoon, with some early bulletins from state outlets placing the dead at five or six before the interior ministry issued its final figure of nine killed. Reuters correspondents confirmed that the updated numbers came directly from government briefings distributed on Thursday. Hospitals in Damascus continued treating the wounded late into the evening, according to local reports aggregated by international wire services.
