ISIS claims responsibility for attack in Damascus

A car bomb tore up a vegetable market and a police officers’ club in Damascus, the Syrian capital, Tuesday, according to a witness and regional news reports, striking an area that had been quiet for about two years under a local agreement between the Assad government and insurgents.

ISIS, using its official media channels, claimed responsibility for the blast, which the witness said had wounded dozens in Masaken Barzeh, a neighborhood on the northern edge of the city.

It was the first attack in Damascus itself to be claimed by ISIS, although the group said it was behind an assault last month on the Sayeda Zeinab shrine, on the outskirts of the capital, that left dozens dead.

According to the witness, a large explosion hit the officers’ club, which was frequented by government troops as well as by allied fighters from the Lebanese group Hezbollah. The witness also said that the blast had blown out the windows of his home, 100 yards away, Tampa Bay Times reported.

ISIS said in a statement that the police officers’ club had been the target of the bombing. But the club is inside a market, adding to the likelihood that civilians could be killed or wounded.