A bomb exploded in a central district of Damascus on Wednesday, killing at least eight people according to Syrian state media.
Official news agency SANA said the bomb detonated at the entrance to the headquarters of the country's railway authority near central Hijaz square at midday.
Eight people were alleged to have been killed and at least 50 were wounded in the blast. The report quoted unmanned officials blaming "terrorists" for the attack, a term used by President Bashar al-Assad's government to refer to the rebels fighting to overthrow him.
State TV broadcast images showing several wounded people walking away from the site of the blast, passing apartment buildings and shops with their windows blown out.
In a similar incident southeast of the capital, state-run Al Ikhbariya TV said an explosion went off in the city of Sweidah, causing a number of casualties, though it did not give a number. If confirmed, it would be the first attack targeting a predominantly Druze city.
Syria's civil war has taken on increasingly sectarian overtones in the past year as predominantly Sunni Muslim rebels fight a government dominated largely by Alawites, a sect of Shi'a Islam to which Assad belongs. Syria's Christians have also been targeted in previous attacks because many Sunni rebels perceive them as siding with Assad.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Wednesday's attacks.
Rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad have frequently targeted Damascus with bombs. Armed opposition fighters tied to al-Qaeda have previously claimed bombings of government and security institutions in the capital and beyond.
Over 100,000 people have died since the Syrian uprising began in March 2011, according to U.N. figures and more than two million people have fled the country.
Al Jazeera and The Associated Press
Error
Sorry, your comment was not saved due to a technical problem. Please try again later or using a different browser.