Two improvised explosive devices detonated near a Damascus hotel housing French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, wounding at least 18 people.
The twin blasts occurred near the Four Seasons hotel, a heavily guarded facility that hosts United Nations staff and foreign diplomats.
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Macron was meeting Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the presidential palace at the time.
Syria's Interior Ministry reported that the explosions took place outside the designated security zone for the French president's residence.
The official visit schedule proceeded without interruption, the ministry confirmed.
According to the Syrian state news agency SANA, one device was hidden inside a trash container and another was placed within a vehicle parked along the roadside.
The blasts occurred while security officers were attempting to dismantle the devices during field operations.
Four police officers were among the 18 injured victims.
A Damascus-based security official speaking to Al Jazeera described the incident as "a criminal act."
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Security expert Ismat al-Absi evaluated the targeted nature of the explosions and noted that a security gap must be addressed by the current administration.
"We are not sure if the IEDs were targeting the French president's convoy as he was heading to the People's Palace to meet Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa," al-Absi said.
Al-Absi emphasized that the perpetrators intended to project a negative image of the country's current stabilization efforts.
"It is clear that the aim is to create unrest and send a negative message.
But let's be clear, there is a security gap, and we need to fix it … in order to prevent portraying Syria's security situation in a negative light," he said.
The incident marks a security challenge for Syria's new rulers following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
It comes less than a week after a cafe bombing in Damascus killed at least nine people.
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Macron's trip is the first by a Western leader since the regime change, following prior visits by the emir of Qatar in January 2025 and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in April 2026.
