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A Syrian flag flies in the capital Damascus in April 2018. REUTERS / Ali Hashisho

A strong explosion was heard in southern Damascus, near a military intelligence office, state media reported on Sunday (January 20th). The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) refers to " the dead and wounded ".

The director of the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (OSDH), Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP that it was a " strong explosion ", of which " it is not yet clear if it was caused by an explosive device or a suicide bombing ".

" There are people killed and wounded but we could not check the balance sheet, " said the director of the NGO. " The explosion was followed by fire, " he added, adding that it took place near a military intelligence office in southern Damascus. This is the first attack in the Syrian capital in more than a year.

The jihadists expelled from Damascus?

The state television had previously reported an explosion " heard near a highway in the south of the city ," reporting " first reports suggesting a terrorist act ," but without giving further details.

The regime of Bashar al-Assad announced in May 2018 to control " totally " Damascus and its surroundings for the first time since 2012, after driving the jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) group of their last reduction in the Syrian capital, at the end of a month of a vast offensive.

(with AFP)