Amman, May 19 (Petra) -- Syrian authorities announced that a soldier was killed and 23 people, mostly civilians, sustained varying degrees of injuries following a car bomb explosion near a Ministry of Defense building in the Bab Sharqi area of Damascus.

According to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the Media and Communication Directorate of the Ministry of Defense stated on Tuesday that a military unit had initially discovered and defused an improvised explosive device (IED) planted near one of the ministry's buildings in Bab Sharqi. Shortly thereafter, a car bomb detonated in the same area, resulting in the death of the soldier.

Najib Al-Naasan, Director of Ambulance and Emergency Services at the Ministry of Health, confirmed that the explosion injured 23 individuals. He noted that the casualties were evacuated to nearby hospitals, where they received all necessary emergency medical treatment and healthcare procedures.

//Petra// AF