Suicide blast kills at least eight in Damascus

State television reported that the large blast took place in the Kafr Sousa neighbourhood, which houses some of Syria's main security installations.

"Eight people died when a suicide bomber targeted Kafr Sousa" in the southwest of the capital, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"At least four of them were soldiers, including a colonel," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.

State television aired footage of the blast site, showing bloodied scenes and the charred wreckage of several cars, in addition to a heavy security presence.

The exact target of the bombing is not yet clear.

The explosion comes as the regime’s army and allied militias are fighting to capture the Wadi Barada region northwest of Damascus, in a bid to secure the capital’s main water supplies, which have been severely disrupted for weeks.

The Syrian government on Wednesday said it has reached a deal for the regime army to enter the rebel-held region and restore the capital's water supply.

Opposition sources however denied there was any such deal.

Syria's government accuses rebels, including former al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front, of deliberately cutting the supply to the capital.

But the rebels say regime strikes damaged pumping facilities and deny that Fateh al-Sham, previously known as Al-Nusra Front, has forces in the area.