60 people killed by IS bombs in Damascus

Sixty people have been killed, including 25 Shi’ite fighters, and dozens wounded by a car bomb and two suicide bombers, in Sayeda Zeinaba, a district of Damascus where Syria’s holiest Shi’ite shrine is located.

IS claimed responsibility for the attacks, according to Amaq, a news agency that supports the group. It said two operations “hit the most important stronghold of Shi’ite militias in Damascus”.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the casualties were expected to rise. Sayeda Zeinaba is a district of southern Damascus where the Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah, and other Iraqi and Iranian militias have a strong presence.