Damascus, Oct 20 (TIWN) At least 13 people were killed and three others wounded in a bomb attack on an army bus in central Damascus on Wednesday, state news agency SANA reported.

"A terrorist bombing using two explosive devices targeted a passing bus" at a key bridge in the capital, the news agency said, reporting an initial casualty toll of 13 dead and three wounded.  Images released by SANA showed first responders searching the charred carcass of the bus and what the news agency said was a bomb squad defusing a third device planted in the same area.  Damascus had been mostly spared such violence in recent years, especially since troops and allied militia retook the last significant rebel bastion near the capital in 2018.  The attack is the deadliest in the capital since a bombing claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group targeted the Justice Palace in March 2017, killing at least 30 people.  There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing but most such attacks in the past were claimed by IS.  The latest bombing will challenge the government's assertion that the decade-old war is over and stability guaranteed for reconstruction efforts and investment projects to begin in earnest.