At least 40 people have been confirmed killed, and the number is expected to continue to rise into the evening, after a car bombing tore through a mosque in metro Damascus near the end of Friday prayers.

At least seven children are among the slain, according to reports, and one woman was also killed in the detonation. There were unconfirmed reports of a second bombing, though some say that the second car was defused.

The bombing targeted the entrance to the mosque, collapsing it. No groups have claimed responsibility, though the Syrian state media blamed the rebels, who have launched several other bombings against mosques around Damascus. The rebels blamed the government.

Dozens of people were also reported wounded in the attack, and the death toll is expected to rise as many of those wounded are in critical condition and not expected to survive.