Damascus, May 1 (IANS) A Shia cleric was critically wounded on Friday when assailants threw a grenade into his car in the Sayyida Zeinab suburb of Damascus, according to a war monitor, though Syrian authorities confirmed only that an explosion had occurred in the area.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights identified the target as Farhan Mansour, a member of the Shia religious authority and a Friday preacher.
The Britain-based monitor said unknown assailants attacked Mansour near the Safir al-Zahraa hotel after he left the Sayyida Zeinab shrine, leaving him severely wounded.
His condition remained unclear, the group said.
Syrian security authorities, cited by the state-run SANA news agency, said the blast was caused by a hand grenade but did not confirm the reported target or provide casualty figures, Xinhua news agency reported.
“Security forces cordoned off the area and increased their presence to keep civilians away, while specialised teams examined the scene,” authorities said.
There was no immediate official statement on Mansour’s condition.
Sayyida Zeinab, home to one of Islam’s most revered Shia shrines, has been attacked multiple times during Syria’s more than 14-year civil war.
Friday’s incident occurred against a backdrop of heightened sectarian tensions as the country emerges from the conflict.
In January 2025, Syria’s interim authorities said they thwarted a planned bombing at Sayyida Zeinab.
Citing an unnamed source in the General Intelligence Directorate, SANA news agency said a group linked to the Islamic State (IS) had intended to attack the Sayyida Zeinab shrine.
Security forces apprehended those involved before they could carry out the attack, which officials described as “a criminal act targeting the Syrian people”.
The suburbs of Sayyida Zeinab were subjected to missiles strikes by Israel in 2024, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported an attack in the suburb in June 2024, the Israeli missiles targeted a location where vehicles were stationed at the service centre of the Jihad al-Bina Foundation, affiliated with the Hezbollah and Iranian militias in the vicinity of this suburb area.
–IANS
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