18 People Injured Due to Two Explosions in Damascus, Syria

JAKARTA - Syrian authorities announced 18 people were injured in two explosions in central Damascus, near the hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron was on a state visit on Tuesday.

The Syrian Ministry of the Interior said "18 people, including four police officers, were injured" as a result of two explosions caused by "two improvised explosive devices, the first of which was placed inside a parked car on the side of the road, while the second was placed inside a garbage container," as reported by Al Arabiya (7/7).

The ministry said the devices exploded "while preparations were being made" to dismantle them.

President Macron had left the hotel before the explosion, and the blast was not heard by the French President's convoy, according to two AFP journalists who were with them.

The explosion occurred shortly before Syrian state television announced the arrival of President Macron at the presidential palace to meet with President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

An AFP photographer near the Tourism Ministry, across the street from the hotel, saw windows shattered by one of the blasts, amid tight security.

A security source told AFP earlier that the bombs were placed near the Four Seasons hotel, where Macron was staying.

AFP journalists heard at least one explosion echo out in Damascus before seeing a plume of smoke billow near the hotel, with security forces closing off nearby streets and ambulances heading to the scene.

The second blast occurred near the Victoria Bridge in central Damascus, about 200 meters from the hotel.

"I saw three traffic police officers injured on the ground, before the area was evacuated and the roads leading to it were closed," Hamam Hammoud, a 37-year-old employee at a money exchange company, told AFP.

Before arriving at the presidential palace, President Macron held a meeting on Tuesday morning with representatives of civil society at the Four Seasons Hotel.

The French Elysee Palace confirmed that the visit of French President Macron, the first Western leader to visit Syria since the fall of the old ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024, will continue as scheduled.

Immediately after the two explosions, hotel security took precautions and asked those who had met with Macron to go to the hotel's parking garage and stay there for their safety, according to a participant who spoke to AFP.

The blast was the second since Thursday, when 10 people were killed in a bombing at a cafe in Damascus.

The French president has postponed announcing the date of his visit to Damascus until his plane lands on Monday, for security reasons.