Damascus cafe bombing kills at least six near Palace of Justice

Syrian state media said an explosive device detonated inside a cafe in central Damascus on Thursday, killing at least six people and injuring 22 others.

SANA, Syria’s state news agency, said the blast struck a cafe in the Hijaz area on Al-Nasr Street and that Interior Ministry units, internal security forces and ambulance teams responded, secured the area and evacuated the wounded.

BBC News reported the same death and injury count and said the cafe was about 100 metres from the Palace of Justice, a major government building in the capital. BBC also reported there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Al Jazeera also reported at least six killed and 22 injured, citing Syria’s Ministry of Health, and said investigators were reviewing government and private surveillance cameras near the scene. Its correspondent reported security forces initially cordoned off the area because of concern about a possible secondary explosion.

What remains unconfirmed: who planted the device, whether the courthouse area was the intended target, and whether the casualty count will change. The first Shadowfetch read stays narrow: confirmed toll, explosive-device account, emergency response, proximity to the Palace of Justice, and an open investigation.

Sources: SANA, BBC News, Al Jazeera.