Al Qaida-linked group claims responsibility for Damascus bombings on Shia pilgrims that killed 74 people

Damascus, March 13, 2017: A day after Levant Swords rebel group said it was involved in the double bombing that killed 74 people, al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front claimed responsibility for the attack on Shia pilgrims, a media report said on Sunday.

Nusra front also claimed that the Shia Iraqis were not pilgrims to shrines in Damascus but fighters supporting the Syrian government forces against the six-year-old rebellion, Xinhua news agency reported.

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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that at least 54 victims of Saturday's attack were Syrian civilians and Iraqi pilgrims, in addition to 20 Syrian government troops.

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One bomb exploded near the entrance to the Bab al-Saghir cemetery on the parking lot side where nine buses were parked.

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Shortly thereafter, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt he was wearing on the grounds of the cemetery. (IANS)