Syria denies explosion in Damascus targets security meeting

DAMASCUS, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Syria's state media said the explosion that rocked Damascus' Kafar Souseh area Monday night was caused by a mortar shell, denying activists' reports that the blast targeted a meeting of top security officials.

The mortar was fired by "terrorists" and landed near the parking lot of the Municipal Building in the eastern Damascus' district of Kafar Souseh, official news agency SANA said, adding that the mortar attack caused minor damage only.

Meanwhile, the pro-government TVs, Sama and al-Ekhbariah, denied activists' report that the blast targeted a meeting of top Syrian intelligence officials.

The activists' Local Coordination Committees claimed that the rebels Free Syrian Army carried out an "exceptional explosion" that targeted a top officials' meeting in one of the security headquarters in Kafar Souseh.

Another activist group, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the blast in Kafar Souseh was caused by a roadside bomb that was affixed under a car in the area, spelling no details on losses.

The area groups a number of security branches.

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