Bomb Blast in Damascus…

A bus bombing in Damascus today killed at least 6 Lebanese pilgrims and wounded 22 others who were visiting Shia shrines in Syria. The al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement, Hezbollah said: “Hezbollah condemns the terrorist blast that was executed by Takfiri criminals in the Syrian capital Damascus and that targeted the visitors of Sayyida Roqaya and led to the killing and wounding of several pilgrims.” When I was in Damascus visiting Sufi and Shia shrines two months before the Syrian war began, I had the opportunity to visit the same shrines that the pilgrims who were attacked today were scheduled to visit. I was very sad this afternoon to hear about the violence they suffered on the way. According to several reports, the bus was on its way to the shrine of Sayyida Zeinab–which has seen its own share of conflict in the ongoing Syrian war…