An improvised explosive device planted inside a cafe on Al-Nasr Street in central Damascus killed at least nine people and wounded 20 others on Thursday afternoon, according to a statement from the Syrian interior ministry. The blast, which occurred roughly 70 metres west of the Palace of Justice, was caused by a primitive device weighing about one kilogram and packed with metal shrapnel, the ministry said. The health ministry had earlier reported lower casualty figures, initially confirming four dead and ten injured before revising its count. The cafe, identified by local sources as Al-Mishirya, is frequented by visitors to the courthouse, and a lawyer was among the victims.

Security forces cordoned off the site immediately after the explosion, while engineering units and K9 teams swept the area for secondary devices. Criminal evidence teams began collecting forensic material, reviewing CCTV recordings and taking witness statements, the interior ministry said. The wounded were distributed across several Damascus hospitals, including Al-Mujtahid, the Syrian Red Crescent, Ibn Al-Nafis, Al-Rashid and Al-Mawasah. Medical officials described injuries concentrated in the extremities, as well as abdominal trauma requiring immediate surgery, with the most critical cases involving blunt force injuries to the abdomen, chest and head.

Thursday’s attack is the latest in a series of security incidents that have punctuated the capital since a new administration took power following the removal of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. In May, a car bomb near a defence ministry building killed one soldier; the defence ministry stated the explosion occurred as an army unit was attempting to defuse a device. In June, a suicide bombing inside a church in the Dweila neighbourhood killed 25 people. An extremist group claimed responsibility, but Syrian authorities attributed the attack to the Islamic State organisation. Viewed from Damascus, the transitional government frames such incidents as acts of terrorism aimed at destabilising the country, while regional security analysts note that the attacks, though limited in scale, expose persistent gaps in the new administration’s security apparatus.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the cafe bombing. The interior ministry said investigations are ongoing and pledged to pursue the perpetrators and anyone proven to be involved. Authorities have urged citizens to rely on official statements and avoid circulating rumours. The incident underscores the fragile security environment in the Syrian capital as the transitional government seeks to consolidate control and extend its authority across the country.