Souq Wadi Barada Car Bomb Incident

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On October 25, 2013, dozens of civilians were killed when a car bomb detonated at a mosque in a rebel-held town of Wadi al-Barada. Rebels blamed government forces, the government blamed careless rebels who were preparing it at the mosque for use elsewhere when it went off. The final death toll was initially at least 44, with dozens more injured, reports it was nearly 200 dead, and 139 victims were eventually listed with details (see #VDC below).

The VDC victim breakdown is interesting: 131 men, 7 boys, a single woman. Early reports had 45 dead, including 7 children and a woman. All those who died of injuries later - nearly 100 - were men. 55 of those couldn't be identified for some reason. Perhaps women weren't allowed in the mosque at the same time men were? Otherwise, this amazingly lopsided gender distribution, almost exactly the same as in the Khalidiya Massacre, suggests segregated hostages of the rebels were the true victims.

Strangely, one man (Abde al-Lateef Snobar) who died right away on the 25th is said to have coincidentally died from wounds sustained a month earlier in another Friday mosque car bombing nearby. See talk page section, Perp Investigation, pt. 1.

This is a stub page. More details may come together on the discussion page. Below are enough sources to get the reader started.


At least 40 people, including children, have been reported killed in a car bomb blast in Syria, outside a mosque in a town in Damascus province.
The blast, in the town of Suq Wadi Barada, came just before the end of Friday prayers and brought down the mosque's entrances.
Both the government and rebels blamed each other for the explosion.


At least three children were among the dead and dozens more wounded in Friday's car bombing, UK-based activist group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
While Suq Wadi Barada was under opposition control, government forces were positioned just outside the town, it said.
State news agency Sana said one of the victims was aged seven. It blamed opposition forces, saying the bomb exploded while "terrorists were preparing it".
Rebel leaders blamed government troops.
At least thirty civilians have been killed and dozens of others injured when a regime car bomb exploded near Usama Bin Zaid Mosque after Friday prayers.
  • NSCROF, press statement from Istanbul:
Assad’s thugs planted two car bombs today in the area of the Usama Bin Zaid Mosque in Wadi Barada, near the capital Damascus. At least 33 people died and dozens were injured, as the car bombs exploded while people were leaving the mosque at the end of Friday prayers.
The Syrian Coalition condemns this heinous crime and denounces the position of the international community that allows Assad to continue to commit massacres against the Syrian people. The Coalition calls on the United Nations Human Rights Council to document this crime, as well as previous Assad crimes against the Syrian people, and urges it to take necessary measures to ensure Assad and his corrupt clique are held accountable.
The Syrian Coalition describes the international community’s attitude towards Bashar al Assad’s massacres, suspicious, and that it “keeps the door open for him to continue killing Syrians and violate international laws." This statement came in reference to the Barada Valley massacre, which claimed the lives of nearly 200 residents in an area near the capital Damascus. Regime forces planted and detonated two car bombs in front of Osama bin Zaid mosque as worshipers were leaving after Friday prayers. This Friday was dubbed, "The Solution is in The Hague, not in Geneva,” by the Syrian people.


Facebook, Oct. 25:

Reef Dimashq: 40 people, including 7 children, were documented as killed by the car bomb that went off after the Friday prayers in the village of al-Souq, Barada valley. The number of dead is likely to rise because there are tens of badly injured. Reports from the village warn that the number of dead might exceed 100.

Oct. 26:

At least 45 civilians, including 7 children and 1 woman, were killed by a detonated car explosion after the friday prayers in the al-Souq village in Wadi Barada.
Sources from the al-Souq village in Wadi Barada reported that the number of casualties by the detonated car explosion yesterday might reach more than 100 because there are dozens of injuries, a lot of which are in a critical state.


The Syrian Center for Documentation of Violations (VDC) database shows: All martyrs killed by "explosion" in Damascus suburbs, Oct. 25. When ACLOS first checked, it was 44, then 45. Sometime later. (one entry - Snobar, see talk page - is said to have died from prior injuries, not the day's bombing). Later, there were 139 victims. Notes for each say: "Dozens of civilians were killed as a result of a car bomb explosion in front of the "Osama bin Zaid" mosque, in Wadi Barada main market, after the "Friday prayers"‬," and the two videos below are linked.

Breakdown of the dead: no girls, one woman, 7 boys, and 131 adult males. The list is all civilian but for one FSA rebel.] The first entry seems to be 107 Unidentified, the only one (initially) they didn't come up with an ID for. Among the later additions are a set of 55 unidentified men.