BEIRUT — Syrian state media say nine people have been killed in a car bombing in a coastal, government-held town — the first such explosion since a new cease-fire last week.
The bombing took place in Jableh in Latakia province, a government stronghold. The area is the heartland of Syria’s Alawites, a Shiite offshoot to which President Bashar Assad’s family also belongs.
First videos from the scene show several destroyed shop fronts and cars.
Jableh has been the target of similar attacks in the past. In May, a string of blasts hit first a crowded bus station, then outside a hospital that was receiving the wounded. About 120 people died in that attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State group.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for Thursday’s bombing. IS and other militants are not part of a broad truce that the government and the opposition agreed on last week.
The Associated Press
