Damascus cafe bombing toll rises to at least nine near Palace of Justice

SANA and Al Jazeera now report that an explosive device detonated inside a cafe in central Damascus on Thursday, killing nine people and injuring 20 others. AP has also moved the death toll to at least nine, citing Syria’s Health Ministry, while BBC News remains on the earlier six-dead, 22-injured line from state media.

The blast struck on Al-Nasr Street near the Palace of Justice in the capital’s central district. SANA, citing Syria’s Interior Ministry, said preliminary investigations indicate the device was an improvised explosive packed with metal fragments and containing about one kilogram of explosive material.

SANA said security forces cordoned off the area, engineering units and police K9 teams searched for additional threats, and forensic investigators began collecting evidence, reviewing surveillance footage and interviewing witnesses. AP reported that no group immediately claimed responsibility.

BBC News reported the cafe was about 100 metres from the Palace of Justice, a major government building in Damascus. The earlier SANA/BBC casualty lane had six killed and 22 injured before the later SANA/Al Jazeera/AP death-toll update.

Al Jazeera reported investigators were reviewing government and private surveillance cameras near the scene, and its correspondent said 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 again. Shadowfetch is keeping the update narrow: confirmed blast, updated death toll, emergency response, proximity to the Palace of Justice, and an open investigation — not motive or responsibility.

Sources: SANA update, AP, Al Jazeera, SANA earlier file, BBC News.