Syrian TV: 17 killed in car bomb blast near Damascus airport
Syrian TV interrupted its broadcasts Saturday, Sept 27, to report that a car rigged with a 200 kg bomb had killed 17 people, injuring 14, when it exploded on the Damascus airport road. The blast occurred near a security forces or intelligence post at Sidi Kadad, at an intersection leading to the Shiite Sit Zeinab shrine. Security forces have cordoned off the area. No further details were released.
debkafile adds: The shrine is popular with Iranian and Lebanese Shiites. The car bomb attack may have been aimed at some senior Iranian general or Revolutionary Guards officer or group involved in its nuclear program – or a Hizballah operative – on their way to the shrine.
It was the first explosion in Syria since February’s car bomb assassination of Imad Mughniyah, military commander of the Islamist group Hizballah, in February.