21 Killed in Car Bomb Explosions in Syria’s Capital<br />By BEN HUBBARDJULY 2, 2017<br />BEIRUT, Lebanon — A series of car bomb blasts shook the Syrian capital, Damascus, early Sunday, killing 21 people<br />and highlighting security gaps in parts of the country controlled by President Bashar al-Assad, according to an opposition monitoring group.<br />Syrian state television reported that eight people had died and 13 had been injured,<br />but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition monitoring group based in Britain, reported that 21 were killed, including the three attackers.<br />Mr. Assad’s forces have struggled to maintain security in areas under their control while continuing to battle rebels seeking Mr. Assad’s ouster, as well as jihadist groups<br />that have exploited the war’s chaos to seize territory and set up operations.<br />A suicide bomber blew up the car he was driving near the heart of Damascus after being surrounded by security forces, while<br />two other car bombs were detonated after security forces tried to intercept the vehicles on the edge of the city.<br />No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks,<br />but the jihadists of the Islamic State and militants linked to Al Qaeda have claimed recent attacks in the city.
