At least six people were killed and 23 wounded in a blast in a Damascus suburb near a Shiite shrine on Thursday, the Syrian Interior Ministry has said.
A booby-trapped motorcycle exploded near a taxi in the town of Sayeda Zeinab, the ministry added in a statement carried by state news agency Sana.
The blast comes on the eve of the holy day of Ashura.
Earlier in the day, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the blast occurred outside a hotel near a military base belonging to Iranian militias.
ISIS on Friday claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on its Telegram channel.
Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned the blast and suggested it had been carried out by US and Israel-supported groups.
“In a situation where innocent Syrian people are suffering from the cruel sanctions of the US and some western countries and amid the painful silence of the international community, the terrorist groups supported by the Zionist regime and the US are also committing such heinous crimes," ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Friday.
Earlier this week, two people were wounded in another blast outside the shrine, where pilgrims have been flocking to mark Muharram, a mourning period for Shiite Muslims.
The neighbourhood is named after the Sayeda Zeinab shrine, which is in turn named after the granddaughter of the Prophet Mohammed.
Protecting the shrine became a rallying cry for Shiite fighters backing President Bashar Al Assad in the early years of a decade-long conflict, as it turned from an anti-government uprising into a sectarian civil war.
Ashura is the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram, which is one of the holiest months for Shiites.
It marks the martyrdom of the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson, Imam Hussein, and his 72 companions in the battle of Karbala in the seventh century in present-day Iraq. Ashura marks the peak of the mourning period.
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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Points about the fast fashion industry Celine Hajjar wants everyone to know
- Fast fashion is responsible for up to 10 per cent of global carbon emissions
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- Fast fashion labour workers make 80 per cent less than the required salary to live
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