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Ribal Al-Assad condemns Islamist bus bombing in Damascus

Tuesday, 3 February 2015

Syrian al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front claims Damascus bus bombing killing at least six

ABC NEWS

A bomb has torn apart a bus believed to be carrying Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims in Damascus, killing at least six people and wounding at least 19, witnesses and local media report.

A social media account linked to Nusra Front said the hardline Sunni group was behind the attack on the bus near a market place in Syria's capital.

The vehicle had Lebanese number plates and Syrian security services had cordoned off the area close to Hamidiyeh market, a witness said.

Syria's state news agency SANA said the "terrorist explosion" had killed four and wounded 19.

The bus had been carrying pilgrims close to the Sayyida Ruqayya shrine, a television channel run by Lebanese Shi'ite movement Hezbollah said.

Syria's Ikhbariya television showed footage of men and a woman in hospital with wounds.

It also showed footage of the blacked, wrecked bus and security services picking through the damage.

A Nusra Front Twitter feed said one of the group's members blew himself up inside a bus at the market.

It posted a photo of a man it said was the bomber and another of the wrecked vehicle, but the images could not be immediately verified.

Nusra Front was battling Syrian government forces as well as other insurgent groups in Syria.

While fighting raged on the outskirts of Damascus, attacks in the centre were relatively rare.

Condemning the attack, ODFS Director, Ribal Al-Assad said:

"I am horrified to hear of yet another attack by Islamist militants against innocent civilians in Syria.

More lives needlessly lost at the hands of extremists whose goal is to smash apart the beautiful mosaic of Syrian culture and install an Islamic caliphate.

When will the international community realise that the only way to achieve an end to the violence is through engagement with all those who have a genuine belief in freedom and democracy and are willing to commit to it. There can be no place for extremists at the negotiating table.

Only then can we confront the growing and deadly threat of extremism.

If this approach is not taken then we will only see a continual rise in attacks like the one in Damascus with more innocent people loosing their lives.

My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families at this time."

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