Bomb attack claims two lives in Syria’s Tartus: State TV

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on September 5, 2016 shows Syrians and security forces gathering at the site of a blast outside the Syrian city of Tartus. (Photo by AFP)
A bomb attack has hit the coastal Syrian city of Tartus, killing at least two security officers, as a countrywide ceasefire enters its third day.
Two bombers set off their explosives after being stopped by security forces in Tartus, the capital of a western province of the same name, Syria’s state television reported early Sunday.
The report added that several others, including civilians, were also injured in the attack, without providing more details.
The city, which hosts a Russian naval base, has remained mostly unaffected by the 2011-present militancy, which has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions more.
Back in May, however, Tartus witnessed a surprise surge in terror attacks that claimed scores of lives.
The latest attack happened despite the countrywide ceasefire, which came into effect on Friday on the back of negotiations between Russia and Turkey.
Russia has been lending air power to Syria’s counterterrorism operations since last September.
At the talks, it was representing the Syrian government, while Turkey, which has been supporting the militants in favor of ousting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was negotiating on their behalf. The ceasefire was later ratified in a UN Security Council resolution.
Russia, Turkey and Iran clinched a similar deal in December that brought about a ceasefire in the northwestern Syrian city of Aleppo.
Aleppo was liberated from militant control earlier in the month in a blow to the open-handed support the militants have been receiving from foreign states.

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