The area is sealed off and debris litters the ground a day after explosions near a hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron was due to stay in Damascus, Syria, July 7, 2026. (Credit: Yamam Al Shaar/Reuters)
No Western head of state had set foot in Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad. Emmanuel Macron changed that on July 6, and the Islamic State organization (IS) responded in its own way. The following day, shortly after the French president left Damascus’s Four Seasons Hotel, where he had spent the night, two bombs exploded near the hotel, killing one person and injuring 36 others. The attack dealt a major security blow during a visit meant to strengthen Syria’s return to the international stage. An IS-affiliated cell was arrested, Syria’s Interior Ministry announced on July 9. More from Syria One year after the Sweida massacres, Syria's Druze caught between mourning and rupture Damascus had already faced its first warning signs of the month. A few days earlier, on July 2, an explosion at a café near the courthouse killed 10...
No Western head of state had set foot in Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad. Emmanuel Macron changed that on July 6, and the Islamic State organization (IS) responded in its own way. The following day, shortly after the French president left Damascus’s Four Seasons Hotel, where he had spent the night, two bombs exploded near the hotel, killing one person and injuring 36 others. The attack dealt a major security blow during a visit meant to strengthen Syria’s return to the international stage. An IS-affiliated cell was arrested, Syria’s Interior Ministry announced on July 9. More from Syria One year after the Sweida massacres, Syria's Druze caught between mourning and rupture Damascus had already faced its first warning signs of the month. A few days earlier, on July 2, an explosion at a café near the courthouse killed...
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