Fourteen Syrian government soldiers were killed when two bombs blew up on an army bus near a bridge in the center of Damascus on Wednesday. A third bomb, also attached to the bus ahead of time, was defused by army engineers, Reuters reported. Several others were injured in the blast. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Attacks in the country’s capital remain rare.
About an hour later, at least 12 people were reported killed and at least 30 injured in military shelling in Idlib in northwest Syria, one of the only remaining rebel-held areas of the country. Four children were killed in the attack, according to the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF. The shelling is believed to be a military retaliation for the bus bombing.