Bomb kills at least nine near Shiite shrine in Damascus

A bomb killed at least nine people and wounded dozens in Damascus on Wednesday. The incident took place near the Sayeda Zeinab mosque, revered by Shiite Muslims, in a suburb of Syria’s capital.

The semi-official Addounia news agency said the bomb was placed in a garbage bag and that another bomb was found nearby and was defused, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group, said the bomb was planted on a motorcycle.

An anonymous activist, quoted by Reuters, said that “the explosion occurred just east of the shrine. Lots of people are also wounded…It is not clear whether the target was the shrine or a security compound adjacent to it.”

In addition to the famous mosque, the Sayeda Zeinab area is also home to several government security agencies’ offices.