Wednesday July 8, 2026
Smoke and flames billow from the scene of explosions in Damascus [Yamam Al Shaar/Reuters]
Two explosive devices detonated in Damascus on Tuesday, wounding at least 18 people in the Syrian capital as French President Emmanuel Macron carried on with a high-profile visit to the country.
Four police officers were among those injured, Syria’s Interior Ministry said, according to the state news agency SANA.
Television images showed columns of smoke rising above Damascus, while separate video shared online and verified by Al Jazeera showed a vehicle engulfed in flames.
An Al Jazeera correspondent reported that the explosions struck near the Ministry of Tourism and close to a hotel where Macron was expected to stay during his trip to the capital for talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Macron’s office said the French leader, who was travelling to meet al-Sharaa at the time, did not hear the explosions and that his programme was not disrupted.
The Interior Ministry told SANA the blasts occurred “outside the security zone designated for the French President’s residence, and did not pose any direct threat to the residence or the official visit programme, which is proceeding according to the planned schedule”.
“Preliminary findings indicate that the two explosive devices were improvised. One was placed inside a vehicle parked along the roadside, while the other was concealed in a trash container,” the Interior Ministry said, as cited by SANA.
Authorities said the devices exploded after security forces located them and called in explosives specialists to dismantle them.
“Investigations are under way to establish the circumstances of the attack and identify those responsible,” it added.
Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto, reporting from the presidential palace, described the atmosphere there as “pretty calm”.
He said the explosions came despite “unprecedented” security arrangements for the first visit to Damascus by a European leader since Bashar al-Assad’s government fell in late 2024.
The incident “reminds us how sensitive and fragile the security situation is here in the country,” Hitto said.
A security official told Al Jazeera the blasts took place in a civilian-packed district and described the incident as “a criminal act”.
Ismat al-Absi, a Damascus-based security expert, told Al Jazeera it was still unclear what the attackers intended to hit.
“We are not sure if the IEDs were targeting the French president’s convoy as he was heading to the People’s Palace to meet Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa,” he said.
“It is clear that the aim is to create unrest and send a negative message. But let’s be clear, there is a security gap, and we need to fix it … in order to prevent portraying Syria’s security situation in a negative light.”
The Damascus blasts followed another deadly incident last week, when an explosion at a cafe in the city centre killed at least 10 people and injured 20 others, Syria’s Ministry of Health said.
Macron hosted al-Sharaa in May 2025 on the Syrian leader’s first official trip to a European country, before al-Sharaa travelled to Washington last year for a meeting with US President Donald Trump.
