An explosive device ripped through a bus carrying Syrian Internal Security Forces personnel on the Maarounah–al-Tal road in the Damascus countryside on Saturday, wounding several members of the force, according to the state news agency SANA and multiple regional outlets.

Photos from the scene showed the bus with its windows and one of its doors blown out, glass scattered across the front seats and visible damage to the vehicle's frame. Middle East Eye reported that authorities have not released a precise casualty count beyond confirming injuries, and no group had claimed responsibility as of Saturday evening local time.

A fragile security picture

Syrian authorities said they are investigating the attack and working to identify those responsible, according to Arab News. The bombing lands amid a stretch of instability for the security forces tasked with holding the country together since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, with sporadic bombings, sectarian flare-ups and skirmishes involving Islamic State remnants continuing to test the new government's authority outside the capital.

The Damascus countryside has seen a string of attacks on security convoys and infrastructure over the past year as the interim government works to consolidate control and disarm rival factions. The Times of Israel's live coverage noted the blast came the same day Israeli forces carried out a separate drone strike near a village further south, underscoring how frequently the region around the capital has drawn violence from multiple directions in recent weeks.

AUTHORITIES ARE WORKING TO IDENTIFY THOSE RESPONSIBLE

No further details on the condition of the wounded had been released by Saturday evening. Syrian state media said security forces had cordoned off the area and begun forensic work at the scene, a routine step in the country's ongoing effort to trace and dismantle networks blamed for a wave of roadside and vehicle-borne attacks against its security services this year.