4 killed in suspected Israeli attack on Damascus-Beirut highway: watchdog

DAMASCUS, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) — Four people were killed on Wednesday morning when their car was struck by a suspected Israeli attack on the Damascus-Beirut highway in the countryside of the Syrian capital, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Britain-based monitoring group said the explosion happened near a security checkpoint of Syrian government forces, close to the Zabadani Bridge on the highway, adding that the car was likely targeted by Israel, a common occurrence in the region.
The incident occurred around 8:15 a.m. local time (0515 GMT) as the vehicle was heading towards Lebanon, Abdou Al-Taqi, head of the town council of Al-Dimas in rural Damascus, told Syria’s pro-government Sham FM radio.
The explosion resulted in a fire that completely engulfed the vehicle, the report said. ■