A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Bus Explosion in Damascus

A bus explosion in Damascus has killed several people including Iranian pilgrims; the accounts vary and Syrian authorities are saying that it was caused by a tire that exploded under pressure while being filled with air, but the photos appear to show a bus that is partly burned out. There's a roundup with photos at Syria Comment. It occurred near a Shi‘ite shrine and involved Iranian pilgrims, so there's obviously speculation that it was an act of sectarian violence. The sensitivity could explain the "exploding tire" explanation.

1 comment:

1 said...

An argument could be made for Iraqi Ba'athists, unhappy with Iran's increased influence in Iraq, may have felt the need to lash out. It's interesting though that the Syrian government did not immediately accuse its neighbors for the incident...in stark contrast to Maliki laying blame on the Syrians for the bombings in August. Just to reaffirm your last point, I think its fair to say the Syrian government chose to bypass accusing Iraq or even the Israelis in an effort to limit any arousal of fears from terrorism.