1 killed in vehicle explosion in Damascus: State media

Syrian state media said a car exploded on Monday in the Mazzeh district of Damascus which is home to embassies and security headquarters but it did not specify the cause of the blast.

The official SANA news agency reported "a car explosion in one of the neighbourhoods" of Mazzeh, where an AFP correspondent said a hotel was damaged and vehicles torched following the blast near Syria's Information Ministry.

Ambulances rushed to the site of the explosion where crowds gathered around the mangled four-wheel drive which was reduced to scraps of metal, the correspondent said.

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According to Reuters, Syrian state media reported that al least one person was killed in the attack. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said at least one person was killed.

Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman could not confirm the cause of the blast but said it was likely caused by an air strike.

The Mazzeh neighbourhood, home to United Nations offices, has been the target of recent strikes blamed on Israel.

Earlier this month, the Syrian government said seven civilians were killed in an Israeli air strike on a residential and commercial building in Mazzeh.