Syria-Explosion/Death Toll/Witnesses
Syria-Explosion/Death Toll/Witnesses
Dateline : Recent
Location : Syrian Arab Republic
Duration : 2'10
Damascus, Syria - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland/Orient TV/Syria Alshaab TV/Zanoubia TV/Alhurra TV/ANN TV/Al Jazeera/Al-Arabiya TV)
1. Various of debris, rescuers at explosion site
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdul Hamid Al-Khalifi, injured lawyer (partially overlaid with shot 3):
"I finished my work and came in, sat down with a colleague. We hadn't even said ten words to each other when the explosion happened. It was horrifying, something you can't even imagine. This cafe has three sections, and the whole area is gone. Completely destroyed. There were children, old people. Blood everywhere on the ground. Tables broken, ceiling down."
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3. Various of debris, rescue workers at explosion scene
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4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Jalal, manager, restaurant adjacent to blast site (full name not given):
"We were sitting there, working quietly, when suddenly a huge blast went off. We ran outside to see what happened. There were bodies on the ground, people injured everywhere. We grabbed the wounded and put them in our cars to get them out, until the ambulances showed up and took over. Then the security forces arrived and cordoned off the area."
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Waleed Al-Kurdi, lawyer (partially overlaid with shot 6):
"The explosion shook the old quarters of Damascus, the area known as Old Damascus, behind the Palace of Justice. Houses trembled, and people were gripped by intense fear."
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6. Debris, rescue workers at explosion scene
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7. Various of injured residents, medics at hospital
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Muhammad Al-Aktaa, director general, Damascus Al-Mujtahid Hospital (starting with shot 7):
"We received 16 cases at the hospital. Unfortunately, some had already passed away. Around half are stable and in the general wards. Two are in the ICU in critical condition. The rest are stable and will need surgery, but it's not urgent."
9. Various of security forces at explosion site
An explosion rocked a cafe in central Damascus in Syria on Thursday, killing at least nine people and injuring 20 others.
The blast sparked panic in the historic district and prompted a major security alert. Authorities said the explosion, which occurred around 15:00 local time (12:00 GMT), was caused by an improvised explosive device weighing about one kilogram and packed with metal fragments.
The device was detonated inside the cafe on al-Nasr Street in the Hijjaz area, about 70 meters west of the Justice Palace, authorities said.
Abdul Hamid Al-Khalifi, a lawyer who was injured in the blast, described the scene as "horrifying" and "beyond imagination."
"I finished my work and came in, sat down with a colleague. We hadn't even said ten words to each other when the explosion happened. It was horrifying, something you can't even imagine. This cafe has three sections, and the whole area is gone. Completely destroyed. There were children, old people. Blood everywhere on the ground. Tables broken, ceiling down," he said.
Jalal, the manager of a restaurant next to the blast site, also witnessed the shocking moment.
"We were sitting there, working quietly, when suddenly a huge blast went off. We ran outside to see what happened. There were bodies on the ground, people injured everywhere. We grabbed the wounded and put them in our cars to get them out, until the ambulances showed up and took over. Then the security forces arrived and cordoned off the area," he said.
A third witness, Lawyer Waleed Al-Kurdi, said the explosion rattled the historic district.
"The explosion shook the old quarters of Damascus, the area known as Old Damascus, behind the Palace of Justice. Houses trembled, and people were gripped by intense fear," he said.
Among the casualties were several lawyers who had been at the cafe.
Ambulance crews and civil defense teams rushed the wounded to nearby hospitals, as security forces moved in and cordoned off the area.
"We received 16 cases at the hospital. Unfortunately, some had already passed away. Around half are stable and in the general wards. Two are in the ICU in critical condition. The rest are stable and will need surgery, but it's not urgent," said Muhammad Al-Aktaa, director general of Damascus Al-Mujtahid Hospital.
Earlier on Thursday, Syria's state news agency SANA, citing emergency officials, said all the casualties had been transferred to hospitals.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the blast.
ID : 8487840
Published : 2026-07-04 21:24
Last Modified : 2026-07-04 21:29:34
Source : China Global Television Network (CGTN)
Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland/Orient TV/Syria Alshaab TV/Zanoubia TV/Alhurra TV/ANN TV/Al Jazeera/Al-Arabiya TV
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