Explosion near Syria’s capital kills father and child

A blast from a suspected explosive device planted inside a car in a suburb of the Syrian capital, Damascus, has killed at least two people, including a child, and wounded one. The explosion in Jaramana, on the southeastern edge of Damascus, on Saturday killed a man and his daughter, while a third person, said to be the wife of the man, was seriously injured.

Syria’s Internal Security Forces said they sealed off the area and opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the blast. Jaramana is home to a large community of the Druze religious minority and has seen tensions between some Druze members and the Sunni majority backing President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government.

Witnesses described the vehicle as a Kia Rio parked between two apartment buildings in Jaramana, which is largely considered a quiet residential area, said Al Jazeera’s Heidi Pett, reporting from the blast scene. Pett said the security situation in the capital remains complex, despite improvements since the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad fell two years ago.