Arabic version: انفجارات تهز دمشق؛ السلطات تعتقل خلية مرتبطة بتنظيم الدولة الإسلامية
Damascus experienced three explosions over the course of a week, including a July 2 blast at a cafe near the Justice Palace that killed at least 10 people and two explosions on July 7, one near the Four Seasons Hotel that killed one person and wounded 36.
According to Al Jazeera, Syrian officials said they had apprehended an ISIL-linked cell believed responsible for the July 7 blasts. “The cell responsible for the terrorist bombings that targeted Damascus two days ago is now in our custody,” Interior Minister Anas Khattab posted on X, formerly Twitter. No group had publicly claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Residents and business owners described damage and disruption near blast sites but said daily life largely continued. At the cafe near the Justice Palace, owner Mohammad al-Dahabi pointed to a small crater on the floor where the July 2 explosion occurred and said, “This is where the explosion happened.” He has shut the cafe since the attack and said he hoped to reopen after finishing repairs. A charred tree trunk and debris were visible near the Ministry of Tourism and Four Seasons sites, and a policeman at one scene said he had found a piece of metal that had been part of a dumpster used to conceal the device.
Analysts warned the attacks underlined lingering security challenges even as authorities have made arrests and foiled plots. Navvar Saban, a researcher in security and military affairs at the Arab Center for Contemporary Syrian Studies, said the strikes appeared intended to disrupt people’s sense of security rather than demonstrate a broad operational capability. Nanar Hawach, senior Syria analyst at the International Crisis Group, said the incidents “do not erase the progress made in Damascus, but they do show how conditional that progress still is.” The article noted that Syrian security forces have arrested dozens of ISIL operatives and foiled assassination plots since the fall of the al-Assad regime.
Despite visible damage and concern about safety near government buildings and courts, traffic and pedestrian movement around the blast sites continued. The reporting described high-profile trials taking place in the city, including cases involving Atef Najib, Wassim al-Assad and former Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun, adding context to why attacks near courthouses and government institutions fuel public anxiety. Locals said they continued daily routines largely because they had no realistic alternative to doing so.
