Al Qaida-linked group claims responsibility for Damascus bombings

A day after Levant Swords rebel group said it was involved in the double bombing that killed 74 people, al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front claimed responsibility for the attack on Shia pilgrims, a media report said on Sunday.

Nusra front also claimed that the Shia Iraqis were not pilgrims to shrines in Damascus but fighters supporting the Syrian government forces against the six-year-old rebellion, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that at least 54 victims of Saturday's attack were Syrian civilians and Iraqi pilgrims, in addition to 20 Syrian government troops.

One bomb exploded near the entrance to the Bab al-Saghir cemetery on the parking lot side where nine buses were parked.

Shortly thereafter, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt he was wearing on the grounds of the cemetery.

--IANS

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