Reuters. Thick black smoke was seen rising in the sky following a car bomb explosion that killed one Syrian soldier outside a Defence Ministry building in Damascus on Tuesday (May 19), the ministry said in a statement carried by state media.
Soldiers had discovered a different bomb near the building in the capital's Bab Sharqi district and were trying to dismantle it when the car bomb went off nearby, the ministry said.
Syria’s health ministry said emergency and ambulance teams had responded to the explosion. Around 18 people were wounded.
The injured were being transferred to nearby hospitals and medical teams were continuing to provide treatment and monitor their condition, it said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Reuters verified the location to be near the Damascus armament centre from the buildings, the road layout and the mosque seen in the video, which matched archive and satellite imagery of the area.
The date when the video was recorded was verified by a Reuters source who said that a car bomb detonated near the location on May 19.
No earlier versions of the video were found posted online before May 19. Corroborating videos posted on May 19 show smoke rising from the same location.
According to “Lurer” correspondent Zarmig Boghikian, the St. Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Church is also located in that area. The explosion detonated away from the immediate vicinity of the church.
No Armenian casualties or injuries have been reported.
