Child among 2 killed as car bomb rips through Damascus suburb with large Druze community

DAMASCUS, Syria — An explosive device placed inside a car in a suburb of Syria’s capital exploded this evening, killing two people and wounding at least one, state TV and the Interior Ministry say.

The explosion took place in the southern Damascus suburb of Jaramana near a factory where batteries are produced, state TV says. It says two people were killed and two were wounded, without giving further details.

The Interior Ministry says the dead include a child, adding that one person was wounded. It says security forces cordoned off the area and have started an investigation.

Several explosions have taken place in Damascus and its suburbs in recent months as the country’s security remains fragile nearly two years after five decades of Assad family rule ended in December 2024. Militants stormed the capital and removed then-president Bashar Assad from power.

Jaramana is home to a large community of the Druze religious minority. The suburb has faced tensions between some members of the community and Sunni Muslim Syrians supportive of the country’s current Islamist-led government.