Car bomb attack rocks Syria's Damascus

A car bomb struck close to a market and a police club in the north of the Syrian capital Damascus on Tuesday, causing casualties, state media reported.

SANA news agency said at least 10 people were killed and injured many more in a "terrorist car bomb" attack near a vegetable market in Masaken Barzeh district.

"The attack also caused material damage to the nearby building of the General Establishment for Mills," it added.

State TV said the blast occurred near a police officers' club, next to the market. 

The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took credit for the attack, saying it was a suicide car bombing, reported The Associated Press. 

Syrian TV, quoting a source in the interior ministry, reported that a car had tried to ram into the police officers' club in the area, but was stopped by guards.

"A suicide bomber then detonated his explosives, causing deaths and injuries," the TV report added, citing the source, without giving further details on the toll.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least eight people were killed and 20 wounded in the attack.

Car bombs have been used regularly in Syria's conflict.

While the capital has been largely spared, a multiple bomb attack near the Sayyida Zeinab shrine outside the city killed at least 71 people last month.

More than 260,000 people have died in Syria's conflict since it began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.