Several killed in Damascus bus bombing

Two bombs attached to a bus carrying Syrian regime troops have exploded in Damascus during the morning rush hour, killing at least 14. 

The explosions, which also left several wounded, happened at a busy intersection, near a main bus transfer point where commuters and schoolchildren typically converge.

After the blasts, Syrian regime TV showed footage of smoke rising from a charred bus as soldiers hosed down the vehicle and onlookers flocked to a nearby bridge to watch.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

A military source said the bombs were detonated as the bus passed near the Hafez al Assad bridge, close to the national museum in the heart of the capital.

"We hadn't seen violence of that type in a long time," a fruit vendor who gave his name as Salman said.

"We thought we were done with such attacks. I hope this will be the last bombing," he said.

Damascus had been mostly spared such violence in recent years, especially since troops and allied militia retook the last significant rebel bastion near the capital in 2018. 

Separately, at least 11 people were killed, including four children and a woman, in the regime's shelling in the northwestern town of Ariha.

READ MORE: Assad forces kill many civilians in an attack on northwestern Syria

Syria’s conflict began in March 2011 and has left between 350,000 and 450,000 people dead and displaced half the country’s population, including five million who are refugees abroad. 

READ MORE: 'Huge explosion' in Syria's capital causes fatalities - monitor