Syria car bomb kills 10 in Damascus suburb

BEIRUT — A car bomb exploded Thursday in the densely populated Damascus suburb of Jaramana, killing 10 people and injuring scores, authorities said.

The explosion in the bustling suburb, whose population is considered largely loyal to the government of President Bashar Assad, was a reminder of the civil war still raging in much of Syria. Recent government operations have pushed rebels back from the capital and resulted in a decrease in attacks in Damascus.

Jaramana is a working-class suburb with a significant population of Druze and Christians among its more than 200,000 residents.

It had been largely quiet in recent months following several car-bomb attacks that prompted a significant increase in security. Syrian troops and local militiamen control checkpoints around the community. All vehicles entering the district are subject to some degree of inspection.

Among Jaramana’s current residents are thousands who have been displaced by warfare elsewhere in the Damascus area and throughout Syria. Many have relocated to Jaramana because it is considered relatively safe compared with some Damascus suburbs.

The state media blamed “terrorists,” the government’s usual term for armed rebels, for the attack in Jaramana. The bomb-laden car was parked in the district’s Al Siyouf Square, the reports said.

Rebels who have been fighting for more than two years to oust Assad have made extensive use of car bombs. Perceived loyalist enclaves such as Jaramana have often been targeted.

State media also reported that a mortar shell launched by “an armed terrorist group” fell on busy Al Thawra Street in Damascus, killing an 8-year-old boy and injuring eight people. Several nearby shops and vehicles were damaged.

Rebels have often fired mortar rounds into the capital from strongholds on the city’s outskirts.

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