AFP archives | Syrian state TV is reporting a bombing in a southern neighborhood of the capital Damascus on Sunday.

An explosion rocked the southern edge of Syria's capital Damascus on Sunday morning, Syrian state media has reported.

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The head of the city's civil defence, Asef Hababe, told Reuters the blast came from military technicians detonating a bomb.

State TV had said earlier that initial reports pointed to a terrorist attack, and that a number of people were injured.

The state outlet did not provide any more details on the incident.

Government media subsequently stopped reporting on the blast.

‘Not verify the death toll’

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitoring group, said the blast struck near a security post. “There are some people killed and injured but we could not verify the toll immediately,” the monitor told AFP.

It was unclear if the blast was caused by a bomb that was planted or a suicide attack, according to the monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside the country.

Syria's war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, forced more than half its pre-war population from their homes and dragged in global powers.

With Russian and Iranian help, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's military has beaten back rebels and the Islamic State group to restore control over most of the country.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)

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