Six civilians killed in Damascus countryside explosion

A least six Syrian civilians have been killed after an explosive device planted by foreign-backed militants exploded near Damascus.

Four others were also injured in the explosion near a school in the Damascus countryside of Qatana on Wednesday, Syria’s official news agency SANA reported.

The explosion comes a day after 18 civilians, among them children, were killed in a car bombing in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana, which has been a main target for militants operating in Syria in retaliation for its residents’ sympathy with President Bashar al-Assad.

Meanwhile, Syrian troops killed 62 militants in the eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta.

“Army carried out an ambush on a group of terrorists belonging to the [al-Qaeda-linked] al-Nusra Front that was trying to infiltrate eastern Ghouta and attack a military post,” SANA quoted a military source as saying.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.

According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and a total of 7.8 million of others displaced due to the violence.