Car bomb kills 9 in government-held town in Syria in first explosion since cease-fire

Syrian state media said nine people were killed in a car bombing in a coastal, government-held town — the first such explosion since a new cease-fire last week.

The bombing took place in Jableh in Latakia province, a government stronghold. The area is the heartland of Syria’s Alawites, a Shiite offshoot to which President Bashar Assad’s family also belongs.

Videos from the scene showed several destroyed shop fronts and cars.

Jableh has been the target of similar attacks. In May, a string of blasts hit first a crowded bus station, then outside a hospital that was taking the wounded. About 120 people died in that attack, which was claimed by Islamic State.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for Thursday’s bombing. Islamic State and other militants are not part of a broad truce that the government and the opposition agreed on last week.