A burning vehicle is seen at the site where a car bomb exploded in Latakia, Syria, on Jan. 22, 2019. A booby-trapped pickup truck went off in Syria's northwestern city of Latakia on Tuesday, killing one and wounding 14 people, state TV reported. (Xinhua)
DAMASCUS, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- A booby-trapped pickup truck went off in Syria's northwestern city of Latakia on Tuesday, killing one and wounding 14 people, state TV reported.
The explosion took place in the crowded Hamam square east of Latakia while state employees were leaving their jobs, said the TV, citing the health department of Latakia as saying that one person was killed and 14 others were wounded.
The TV also aired shots of the blast site, showing crowds of people around a burnt vehicle with a charred body inside while firefighters were at the spot.
According to the report, bomb squads dismantled an explosive device in the same area after the explosion of the car.
The blast comes a couple of days after an explosive device went off in western Damascus without leaving casualties.
Latakia city has remained relatively safe throughout the country's more than seven-year-long war while its eastern countryside has seen battles between the Syrian government forces and radical rebel groups.
Such explosions come to rattle the sense of security the Syrians have recently been enjoying in many areas nationwide.
Latakia, on the Syrian coast, is the hometown of President Bashar al-Assad.
