An explosion destroyed a parked car in a residential neighbourhood of Damascus, killing a passer-by and shattering windows on nearby buildings, witnesses said.
The cause of the explosion in the upscale Kafar Soussa neighbourhood was not immediately known. Security forces quickly sealed off the area and removed the destroyed car, which had its driver's seat and the rear seat blown away by the force of the blast.
The identity of the passer-by also was not immediately known, witnesses said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
There are no government buildings located in the mostly residential Kafar Soussa district. Only an Iranian school is located about few hundred meters from the blast, but the school was unscathed.