February 2016 Sayyidah Zaynab bombings

Overview

On 21 February 2016, Islamic State militants detonated a car bomb and later carried out two suicide bombings approximately 400 meters from the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque, a major Shi'ite shrine in Syria believed to contain the grave of the Prophet Muhammad's granddaughter, Sayyidah Zaynab. The attack occurred in a predominantly Shi'ite town near Damascus that had already been targeted by bombings earlier that same year and in the previous year.

Casualties

According to Syrian media, the attack took place as pupils were leaving school in the area, and the resulting explosions killed 134 people, including children. A separate count from the foreign-led Syrian Observatory put the death toll at 68. At least 60 shops, along with cars in the vicinity, were damaged by the blasts.

Pattern of attacks

This bombing was the third attack in the space of one year targeting the area near the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque. An earlier bombing on 31 January 2016 had killed at least 60 people (later revised to 71, including 42 Syrian army and Shi'ite fighters and 29 civilians) and wounded around 110 others in the same town, also claimed by the Islamic State. Prior to that, in February 2015, two suicide attacks at the shrine had killed four people and wounded thirteen. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the February 2016 attack, as it had for the earlier bombings in the series.

Context

Sayyidah Zaynab is one of the most significant Shi'ite pilgrimage sites in Syria, and the recurring attacks on the town and its shrine occurred amid the broader Syrian conflict, in which sectarian violence and attacks attributed to the Islamic State against Shi'ite communities were recurring features. No named individuals have been publicly charged or convicted in connection with this specific attack based on available reporting.