Car bomb reportedly targets police station in Syria
A Syrian security source in the Deir ez-Zor countryside reported that an explosion, believed to have been caused by a car bomb, occurred this morning targeting the police station in the city of Al-Mayadin in eastern Syria.
According to the source, who spoke to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the blast resulted in a number of casualties among police officers and civilians. The source noted that ambulance and civil defense teams rushed to the scene to provide assistance and transport the wounded to nearby hospitals.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Roya News
5 days ago
- Roya News
Leaked files confirm Assad regime held missing US journalist Austin Tice
For over a decade, the fate of American journalist Austin Tice remained one of the most enduring mysteries of the Syrian conflict. Now, previously unseen intelligence documents obtained by the BBC provide the first concrete confirmation that Tice was held by Syrian authorities under the leadership of Bashar Al-Assad. The classified materials, verified by both the BBC and law enforcement sources, include internal communications between Syrian intelligence branches. They explicitly name Tice and detail aspects of his imprisonment following his 2012 abduction near Damascus. The findings, along with corroborating testimony from former Syrian officials, offer long-sought clarity about what happened to him in the early days of his disappearance. Tice, a freelance journalist and former US Marine, vanished in August 2012 near Darayya, a suburb of the Syrian capital, just days after turning 31. He had entered the country to report on the escalating civil war. Roughly seven weeks later, a video surfaced online showing Tice blindfolded and reciting an Islamic declaration while surrounded by armed men. Though the clip suggested extremist movements' involvement, US analysts at the time raised doubts about its authenticity, with one official stating the video "may have been staged." Despite years of speculation, no entity ever claimed responsibility for holding Tice. The Syrian government, under Assad, repeatedly denied having any knowledge of his whereabouts. That narrative has now been definitively challenged. One of the documents, stamped 'top secret,' places Tice in a government-run detention facility in Damascus in 2012. Sources familiar with the site identified it as Tahouneh prison. A former high-ranking Syrian intelligence officer confirmed to the BBC that Tice was held there by the National Defence Forces (NDF), a pro-Assad paramilitary group. A Syrian official told the BBC that Tice remained in custody at least until February 2013. During that time, he reportedly suffered from stomach problems and underwent medical treatment, including blood tests that revealed a viral infection. A visitor to the detention center who saw Tice recalled, "He looked sad, and that the joy had gone from his face," though he was said to be treated more humanely than Syrian inmates. In a rare account, a former NDF member with direct knowledge of Tice's detention said that his captors recognized his strategic value, stating that "Austin's value was understood" and that he was viewed as a "card" for potential diplomatic negotiations with the US. Tice allegedly made a brief escape attempt by climbing through a window, but was quickly apprehended. He is believed to have been interrogated at least twice by Syrian intelligence. The BBC's investigation is part of a long-running project that began over a year ago for a Radio 4 podcast. Reporters were granted access to a Syrian intelligence archive while working alongside a Syrian war crimes investigator. The documents they found are the first hard evidence to support long-standing US claims that Tice was in Syrian custody. When Bashar Al-Assad was deposed in December 2024, former US President Joe Biden expressed belief that Tice was still alive. Two days before, his mother Debra Tice shared that a 'significant source' had confirmed her son's survival and claimed he was being 'treated well.' Yet, when prisons across Syria were emptied following the regime's collapse, Tice was not among those released, and his current whereabouts remain unknown. The Tice family, who have led a relentless campaign for answers, are aware of the newly surfaced files, as are US officials and a Syrian group documenting human rights abuses under Assad. Tice, who once served in Iraq and Afghanistan before pursuing a law degree at Georgetown University, is now believed to be one of the longest-held American hostages. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, around 100,000 people were forcibly disappeared during Assad's rule. Tice's case, long marked by silence and uncertainty, now stands as a confirmed chapter in that broader tragedy.
Roya News
24-05-2025
- Roya News
Damascus denies rumors of nightclubs, restaurants being shut down
Syrian social media has recently been awash with rumors claiming that authorities in Damascus ordered the nighttime closure of nightclubs and restaurants in the capital. Some users shared fabricated videos and statements falsely attributed to local officials. However, the Damascus Governorate issued an official statement on Saturday via the Old Damascus City Directorate, denying the claims and stating that they are "completely untrue." The governorate clarified that no instructions were given to close tourism establishments at night and no security interventions were carried out for such a purpose. Instead, authorities said the actions taken were part of regular inspection tours to ensure compliance with licensing laws. According to Germany's DPA news agency, some establishments were closed for operating without licenses or violating their permit conditions. The governorate emphasized that all measures were conducted legally and under the supervision of the competent authorities.
Roya News
19-05-2025
- Roya News
Syria foils attempt to smuggle 4 million captagon pills
Syrian authorities said Monday they had intercepted a large-scale drug smuggling operation involving four million captagon tablets, a powerful stimulant that has become a major regional narcotics concern. In a statement, the Interior Ministry said the tablets were discovered concealed within industrial machinery designed for producing flour for human consumption. Officials reportedly acted on precise intelligence that led them to the shipment, which was intercepted before it could leave the country. The bust took place in the strategic port city of Latakia, the coastal city has previously been a key transit hub for captagon trafficking during Syria's years of conflict. Under Assad's rule, captagon emerged as Syria's most lucrative illicit export, fueling regional addiction and providing critical revenue amid international sanctions. Since his ouster in December, the new leadership has uncovered large stockpiles of the drug in former regime facilities, including military installations. Authorities said the suspects behind the smuggling operation have been arrested, the machinery has been confiscated, and legal proceedings are underway under the direction of the public prosecution. The announcement comes just a week after Syrian officials reported the seizure of approximately nine million captagon tablets destined for Turkey following a month-long investigation. In recent months, neighboring countries have made several high-profile interceptions. Iraqi forces in March seized over a tonne of captagon smuggled through Turkey from Syria, while Jordanian authorities in April blocked a separate attempt to move hundreds of thousands of pills across the border.
