President Bashar Assad has visited a tense Damascus suburb to inspect his troops on the occasion of the country's Army Day, according to The Associated Press.

The visit on Thursday, Aug 1, announced by Syrian state-run TV, is Assad's first known public trip outside the capital, his seat of power, since he visited the Baba Amr district in the central city of Homs after troops seized it from rebels in March 2012.

Syrian TV did not provide details but the presidency's Facebook page released a photo of Assad in a blue suit and tie chatting with two soldiers before what appears to be a damaged building in Daraya, the AP said.

Daraya, just south of Damascus, was held by rebels for a long time and it took the army weeks of heavy fighting to regain control earlier this year.