Damascus: The Interior Ministry reported that a motorbike bombing in a southern suburb of the Syrian capital near the Sayeda Zeinab mosque resulted in at least six fatalities and 23 injuries.

On Thursday night, a motorbike carrying explosives exploded on a busy street in the countryside of Damascus, according to Syrian officials, who later posted pictures of the aftermath online. 

After hearing a blast at around 5:30 p.m. local time, security personnel quickly sealed off the area, according to one resident quoted by Reuters. The Criminal Security Directorate of Syria's responded to the "terrorist explosion," according to the Interior Ministry, along with other agencies. 

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Another resident of the area told AFP that the explosion happened "near a security building" a few metres from the Sayeda Zeinab mosque and that they "heard a huge blast and people began to run."

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The mosque, a significant Shia Muslim pilgrimage site, is situated in the suburbs south of Damascus and was the target of a second bombing earlier this week that injured two people.

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A few days prior to Ashura, an Islamic holiday primarily observed by Shia Muslims to commemorate the passing of a grandson of the prophet Muhammad, the attacks took place. For this reason, thousands of pilgrims visit the Sayeda Zeinab mosque, leading to an increase in local security in recent years.

The bombings this week, which come after a number of other assaults on the holy site, have not been claimed by any militant group. Despite the fact that terrorism has decreased recently as a result of Syria's protracted civil war, Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), has taken responsibility for a number of mosque bombings, including one that claimed 40 lives in 2017.