Hezbollah implicates 'powers' in Damascus carnage
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Syrian security forces and locals gather at the scene of a twin bombing targeting Shia pilgrims in Damascus' Old City on March 11, 2017. (Photo by AFP)
The Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement has denounced a twin bombing in Damascus on Saturday, calling for a unified stance against different terrorist groups operating in the region.
According to Press TV, Hezbollah said in a statement "This heinous crime that targeted peaceful Muslims is an indication of the terrorists' remoteness from [religion] and taking up a Takfiri doctrine under the pretext of religion and the killing of believers everywhere.”
The statement came hours after the bombs ripped through buses carrying Shia pilgrims in an area near the Bab al-Saghir cemetery between the Damascus neighborhoods of Shaghour and Bab Musalla. Witnesses said the second bomb exploded when people had gathered at the scene of the first attack.
The pilgrims were expected to pray at the cemetery after visiting the holy shrine of Sayeda Zeinab (Peace be upon her), the granddaughter of Prophet Muhammad (Blessings of God upon him and his progeny) outside Damascus, reports said.
"The terrorist mobs that have various names and affiliations are the result of an ideology based on the rejection of others [as] disbelievers and exterminating them ... which contradicts all divine teachings and laws and morals,” Hezbollah said.
It also urged joint efforts to "eradicate” terrorists, saying they “are being used by international and regional powers to implement hellish projects aimed at fragmenting the region and eliminating the resistance (Hezbollah)."
There were conflicting reports about the number of fatalities. Syrian state television said the double bomb attack left 40 people martyred and 120 others injured.
However, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the martyrdom toll at 59, including 47 pilgrims, most of them Iraqi Shias.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry announced that some 40 of its nationals were among the martyred and 120 among the wounded.
The Lebanon-based al-Mayadeen TV channel reported that the Levant Swords, a terrorist group affiliated with the so-called Free Syrian Army, had claimed responsibility for the assault.
ME
