BEIRUT (AFP) ― At least seven people were killed when a blast ripped through a bus carrying Lebanese Shiite pilgrims in the Syrian capital Damascus on Sunday, a monitoring group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said another 20 people were wounded in the explosion near the Souq al-Hamadiyeh neighborhood of the city. Syrian state media, which reported a toll of six dead and 19 wounded, said the blast was caused by an explosive device rather than a suicide bomber.

State news agency SANA said officials had found and defused a second bomb that had been placed inside the bus before it detonated.

Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said the bus had a Lebanese license plate and was carrying Shiite Muslim pilgrims visiting religious sites in Damascus.

Lebanese media reported that Lebanese nationals were among the dead and wounded, but there was no immediate official confirmation.

In Beirut, an official with the Lebanese group that organized the trip said all the passengers on the bus were Lebanese, but could not confirm a toll.

“They set out from Beirut at 5:30 a.m. this morning,” Fadi Khaireddin told AFP, adding that the bus had space for 52 pilgrims, as well as the driver and trip administrator.

“The bus is usually full,” he added, though he could not confirm how many people were on the trip this weekend.

He said the bus had made its first stop at the Sayyida Roqaya shrine and was heading to the revered Sayyida Zeinab shrine in southeast Damascus when the attack occurred.


koreaherald@heraldcorp.com