Lebanese media say Syrian suspected of deadly Damascus Ashura bombing 'committed suicide to avoid detention'

Lebanese media say Syrian suspected of deadly Damascus Ashura bombing 'committed suicide to avoid detention'
The Syrian man suspected of carrying out a brutal, sectarian bombing in Damascus last month during Ashura committed suicide when Lebanese militants tried to detain him, according to the Lebanese media.
1 min read
19 August, 2023
The deadly bombing targeted the shrine of Sayeda Zeinab in Damascus [Getty]

A Syrian citizen suspected of being behind a deadly bombing that killed and wounded dozens near the capital, Damascus, last month committed suicide when gunmen tried to detain him in Lebanon where he fled, state-run National News Agency reported Saturday.

The agency identified the man as Wissam Dalla and said that he entered Lebanon illegally and was staying with relatives in a Beirut southern suburb where he was planning another “terrorist attack.” The 23-year-old man jumped from the 7th floor of the building where he was staying late Friday night and later succumbed to his wounds in hospital.

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NNA did not report on who tried to detain Dalla but other media outlets said they were members of the militant Hezbollah group, adding that the dead man was suspected of links to the extremist Islamic State organisation.

On July 28, a motorcycle planted with explosives detonated in the Damascus suburb of Sayida Zeinab near a Shia Muslim shrine killing at least six people and wounding dozens a day before the solemn holy day of Ashura.

The neighborhood is named after the shrine for Sayida Zeinab, the granddaughter of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.