14 soldiers of the Syrian regime forces were killed and 3 others were injured in the explosion of two explosive devices that targeted their bus today, Wednesday, at the President Bridge in the center of the capital, Damascus, while dozens were killed or wounded as a result of the Syrian regime forces targeting with artillery shells the city of Ariha in Idlib countryside.
The authorities described the explosion as a terrorist act, and a military source stated that the two explosive devices were attached to the bus, and the official Syrian News Agency reported that the military engineering units dismantled a third device planted in the place.
Interior Minister Major General Muhammad al-Rahmoun said that the attack came after terrorism was defeated from most of the Syrian territories, and added that whoever planned this attack wanted to harm the largest possible number of citizens, as he put it.
No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing, which occurred in the early morning rush hour.
Pictures from the site of the accident showed the burning of the bus completely, and a number of cars were damaged in the targeted place, and rescue workers recovered the body parts of the dead.
At the same time, local sources told Al-Jazeera that two members of the regime forces were killed in the explosion of an explosive device in a military vehicle in the vicinity of the Safyan field (southwest of Raqqa).
The deadliest bombing since 2017
Today's bombing in Damascus is the deadliest in the Syrian capital since 2017, when a bombing - claimed by the Islamic State - targeted the Justice Palace, killing more than 30 people in March 2017.
A previous explosion occurred in early August on a military bus in Damascus at the entrance to the "Guards Residence" near the Dummar project, and the authorities said at the time that the explosion was caused by an electrical fault that caused the bus's fuel tank to explode and ignite, killing the bus driver. and wounding 3 others.
It is noteworthy that the last explosion targeting Damascus was at the end of October of last year, and at that time resulted in the killing of the Grand Mufti of Damascus, Sheikh Adnan Afiouni.
There have also been several attacks this year on regime army vehicles in eastern Syria, launched by suspected ISIS militants who are still active in the sprawling desert area.
Explosions in Damascus have been rare since the forces of the Bashar al-Assad regime took control of opposition pockets in the vicinity of Damascus in 2018, especially Eastern Ghouta.
The Assad regime now controls most of the country with military assistance from Russia and Iran.
13 civilians killed in Idlib
In the countryside of Idlib, at least 13 civilians were killed, and more than 30 were wounded as a result of artillery shelling by the Syrian regime forces on the city of Ariha.
Al-Jazeera correspondent said that the bombing targeted the center of the city of Jericho, and caused damage to the main market in the city.
UNICEF announced in a statement that 4 children were killed in the attack.
On the other hand, Syrian local sources told Al-Jazeera that the Russian military police entered the towns of Nahtah and the eastern and western Maliha in the eastern countryside of Daraa, accompanied by the security committee of the regime, within an agreement with the tribes of Daraa.
The sources added that the agreement provides for carrying out what the Syrian regime describes as settling the conditions of wanted persons and those who have failed the mandatory military service. The agreement also stipulates the handing over of a specific number of weapons and the return of civil institutions.
The Daraa tribes had implemented similar agreements with the regime forces under Russian auspices in the city of Daraa and its eastern and western countryside.
Life is like death
In a related context, Human Rights Watch said that Syrian refugees returning to Syria from Lebanon and Jordan were subjected to massive human rights violations and persecution at the hands of the Syrian government.
In a report entitled "A Life Like Death", the organization documented violations suffered by Syrian refugees who returned to Syria between 2017 and this year.
The organization has documented cases of arbitrary arrest, detention and torture, as well as kidnapping, extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearance and sexual violence.
She pointed out that the refugees returning to Syria also faced economic difficulties in meeting their basic needs as a result of the continuing crisis in the country.
The organization's report concluded that Syria is not safe for refugees to return to, and called on Human Rights Watch to stop any forcible returns of refugees to Syria.