Two blasts rocked Damascus on Saturday, killing 40 and leaving more than 120 people being injured in what Al Jazeera calls “one of the bloodiest attacks” to hit the capital. The blasts occurred near the Bab al-Saghir Cemetery in the country’s capital according to CNN, where a group of Iraqi pilgrims had intended on pray. The cemetery is one of the oldest in the Syrian capital and is the burial site for several “prominent religious figures” according to Al Jazeera.
Two buses carrying pilgrims were damaged in the blasts, but the source of the explosion is still drawing conflicting reports from those on the ground. Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Jamal noted it seemed to be improvised weapons, describing it as a “criminal terrorist operation.”
Jamal said roadside bombs targeted buses carrying the pilgrims.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitor tracking developments in Syria’s war, said a roadside bomb detonated as a bus passed and a suicide bomber blew himself up in the Bab al-Saghir area.
Syria’s SANA state news agency reported that both blasts were caused by explosive devices near the Bab al-Saghir cemetery.
These explosions are not common in this area according to Al Jazeera, with the location known for being one of President Bashar al-Assad’s strongholds where he finds “firm support” from the people. But while unique, an attack of this kind did occur last year in the Sayeda Zeinab district near the Lady Zeynab Shiite Muslim shrine. Sunni terror groups like ISIS have long targeted Shiite shrines and pilgrims within Syria, but this latest attack could lead to an increased Iraqi show of force within the nation according to Al Jazeera.