Overview
- An explosion inside a café on Al‑Nasr Street in central Damascus on Thursday killed nine people and wounded about 20, according to Syria’s Health Ministry and state media.
- Authorities say the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device weighing roughly 1 kilogram and packed with metal fragments; security forces sealed the scene and opened a forensic probe.
- The targeted café sits about 70 metres from the Palace of Justice and is popular with lawyers and courthouse staff, raising concern the attack aimed to hit the judicial district.
- No group has claimed responsibility and investigators have not publicly identified suspects, with officials and analysts pointing to reactivated extremist cells or remnants of the former regime as possible actors.
- The blast is a high-profile security breach for President Ahmed al‑Sharaa’s transitional authorities and could prompt tighter protections around courts, more raids on suspected cells, and heightened international scrutiny.