Mourners have placed those who were bombed in Damascus and six lawyers among the dead Articles of Controversy

The Syrian Bar Association is mourning six lawyers as the world condemns Thursday’s attack in Damascus.

Syrians have gathered in the capital of Damascus to mourn the victims of the bombing ripped into the cafe, near the Palace of Justice, killing 10 people, including six lawyers.

During a funeral ceremony in the normally busy Midan area, mourners on Friday carried the coffins of three of the dead, as they were buried.

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Thursday’s explosion, which also injured 22 people, targeted Al-Mushairiya Cafe on al-Nasr Road in al-Hijaz province.
The cafe, located 70 meters (230 feet) from the Palace of Justice, where the most important cases were held, was a popular meeting place for legal experts and guests of the court.

Damascus Governor Maher Marwan described the device as “obsolete” and promised that violators would be punished.

Six lawyers were among the dead, according to local media. The independent Syrian news Zaman al-Wasl named the lawyers as Muhannad Khalaf, Zuhair Askar, Hossam al-Safadi, Mahmoud al-Shamali, Muhammad Ali al-Shihab, and Eid Muhammad Awad.

The Syrian Bar Association issued a statement mourning “a group of fellow lawyers who were killed”. It said the lawyers had “left us in the pursuit of justice” and offered condolences to their families.

Lawyer Eid Muhammad, a father of six daughters from the village of al-Hajjah in Quneitra countryside, says reviewing legal documents at the cafe when the explosion hit. He alone took care of his family.

Photos of the aftermath of the attack have gone viral on social media, with one photo showing Muhammad looking down in his blood, still surrounded by the legal documents he was searching for before the blast.

Mahmoud Ali al-Shihab, 50, from the city of al-Qusayr in southern Homs, was married and the father of four daughters. Muhammad Saeed al-Shamali was the father of two sons, one of whom practices law, Zaman al-Wasl reported.

Compassion is criticism

Damascus resident Bahaa Qabbani told The Associated Press that his brother, Fathi Qabbani, who works near a shopping mall, was killed in the blast while walking near the mall.

Qabbani said those who carried out the attack were “a group of terrorists who are against their country,” and called on the country’s security forces to “grab the country with iron”.

Syrian officials said the bomb was planted inside the cafe and later detonated, denying media reports of a suicide bomber.

Authorities have promised to find the perpetrators of the attack, but no updates have been announced about the investigation, and no group has claimed responsibility for the bombing.

The attack has drawn sharp criticism from regional governments including Turkey, Iraq, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan, which have expressed solidarity with Syria and reaffirmed their opposition to “terrorism”.

In a statement, the European Union “strongly condemned” the bombing, describing it as “an act of terrorism” and offered condolences to the victims and their families.

The attack is one of the worst security breaches in the Syrian capital since a new government took power after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024.

Damascus has seen several security incidents in recent months, including a bombing that killed one Syrian soldier and wounded at least 18 outside the Ministry of Defense in May.