A car bomb shook central Damascus on Thursday, exploding near the headquarters of the ruling Baath party and the Russian embassy, eyewitnesses and opposition activists said.

Syrian state TV also reported the blast in the central Mazraa neighbourhood on Thursday, calling it a "terrorist" attack.

It did not say what caused the explosions, but reported that there were casualties, and that the wounded included four children.

Al Jazeera's Rula Amin reports from Beirut in neighbouring Lebanon.