This is a list of terror attacks in
Damascus within modern
Syria (after independence in 1946).
1949
On Friday night, August 5, 1949, several hand grenades
were thrown into the
Menarsha Synagogue in Damascus. 12 Jews, eight of them children,[1] were killed and about 30 others injured.[1] The attack was timed to coincide with the
Lausanne Conference, following the
armistice agreement which was signed between Israel and Syria on July 20, 1949.[2]
1986
The deadliest
bombings were executed in Damascus and surrounding areas in 1986. The events caused 144 fatalities, and were blamed by the Syrian authorities upon Iraqi
Ba'athist agents, though other alleged perpetrators, like the
Muslim Brotherhood, were proposed.
2004
April 28: Three gunmen, a policeman, and one civilian were killed in an attack on the diplomatic quarter of Damascus, damaging a building formerly used by the
UN.[3] Police blamed Islamists.[4]
September 12: Three gunmen and a Syrian security guard were killed in a foiled attack on the
U.S. embassy. Gunmen tossed
grenades over the perimeter walls before opening fire with
automatic weapons. A
car bomb was detonated outside the embassy, although a truck bomb filled with
pipe bombs and
gas cylinders failed to explode.[7] Thirteen people were
wounded, including two security guards and a
Chinese diplomat.[8] Police also captured one gunman, although he later died of his wounds.[9] The Syrian government said the attack was planned in
Saudi Arabia and the attackers had no links to
al-Qaeda.[10]
December 3: A little more than year later another explosion killed at least three people when a bus blew up in
Sayyidah Zaynab, a Damascus suburb popular with Iranian and other Shiite pilgrims and named after a
shrine dedicated to the granddaughter of Muhammad located there. Syrian officials denied Terrorism was involved, blaming the deaths on an exploding tire and banned reporters from the site.[11]