A big explosion shook the central Damascus district of Mazraa on Thursday, Feb 21, residents said, according to Reuters.

Syrian television broadcast footage of a smoldering car and said there had been casualties from the explosion, which it said struck a busy residential area of the capital.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group which monitors violence in the country, said a car bomb had detonated near a building of the ruling Baath Party. It said cars 300 meters away from the blast were badly damaged.

Activists reported at least two further blasts in the city after the Mazraa explosion, but there were no immediate details.