A bomb attack on a busy cafe near the Palace of Justice in central Damascus killed 10 people and wounded 21 on Thursday, the deadliest such incident in the Syrian capital since a church bombing in June 2025. The following morning, a man on a motorcycle threw two hand grenades at a security checkpoint at the entrance to the suburb of Jaramana, wounding three members of the security forces, before a third grenade exploded in his hand, killing him instantly. Syrian state media identified the dead attacker as Daniel Riyad Daoud, a local man wanted for murder and drug trafficking; a second suspect was arrested at the scene.

The Syrian Interior Ministry described the cafe explosion as a “terrorist” act, stating that initial investigations showed it was caused by a roughly one-kilogram improvised explosive device packed with metal shrapnel. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The ministry imposed a security cordon, deployed engineering and K9 units to sweep the area, and said evidence collection and witness interviews were underway. It urged citizens and media to rely solely on official statements and warned against spreading unverified information. Mourners gathered in the Midan neighbourhood on Friday to bury some of the victims, with one relative calling on security forces to “take hold of the country with an iron fist.”

Since an Islamist-led coalition overthrew the Assad government in December 2024, the new authorities have struggled to exert full control and contain extremist violence. Syrian officials have blamed Islamic State sleeper cells for a string of deadly attacks, including a suicide bombing at a Damascus church in June 2025 that killed 25 people and a bomb in a mosque in a predominantly Alawite area of Homs. According to the French daily Le Figaro, the group retains dormant cells and has called for defiance against the government. Syria joined the US-led international coalition against Islamic State last year, but the capital has continued to see security incidents, including a car bomb that killed a soldier in May.

Viewed from Western capitals, the twin incidents highlight the fragility of the security environment as the interim administration attempts to reunify a country fragmented by years of civil war and to rebuild state institutions. The Interior Ministry vowed to pursue those behind the cafe bombing and bring them to justice, but no further details on suspects have been released. Investigations into both attacks are ongoing, and the ministry said any new findings would be announced through official channels.