Aleppo Suicide Bombing: Police Officer Killed in Syria Attack

A suicide bomber targeted Syrian police officers in Aleppo on Wednesday, killing one and wounding two others, the official news agency SANA reported. The assailant detonated an explosive belt after officers approached him while securing New Year’s Eve celebrations, according to officials.

Aleppo Suicide Bombing

Syria’s Interior Ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba told Al-Ikhbariah TV that the original target of the attack was likely a church gathering in the city’s Bab al-Faraj neighbourhood.

“We were able to thwart this attack although, unfortunately, the martyrdom of one of our colleagues is a great loss,” al-Baba said.

The Aleppo governorate administration stated that the assailant blew himself up as officers attempted to detain him. The relevant authorities are continuing to investigate the incident and have established a security perimeter around the site.

Azzam al-Gharib, the governor of the province, said security forces observed the “terrorist agent” and tried to arrest him during preparations for New Year’s Eve celebrations.

“One of the security officers managed to physically restrain him. At that point the terrorist detonated his explosive belt,” al-Gharib said in a statement.

The wounded officers are receiving medical treatment at a hospital, though details regarding their condition have not been released.

No group has claimed responsibility for the suicide blast in Aleppo.

The incident occurred hours before the New Year and follows a bombing at a mosque in Homs on Friday that killed at least eight people.

Syria, led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, has faced mounting security challenges after more than 13 years of civil war, which ended late in 2024 with the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad’s government.

On Sunday, deadly clashes erupted between Alawite demonstrators and counter-protesters across several coastal regions. Al-Assad, who fled to Russia after the armed opposition took over Damascus, is a member of Syria’s Alawite minority community.

Earlier this month, US forces carried out strikes across central Syria against what they said were ISIL (ISIS) remnants, following an attack by a gunman from the group that killed two American soldiers and a civilian translator.

Sporadic clashes have also broken out between government forces and the Kurdish-dominated Syria Democratic Forces, who control much of the northeast of the country.

In southern Syria, Israel has expanded its occupation beyond the Golan Heights, regularly establishing checkpoints in Syrian towns, conducting raids, and abducting and disappearing Syrian citizens.