Several cars were set ablaze when a bomb concealed in a vehicle was detonated in a parking lot near a school in the Rukn Eddin neighborhood of the Syrian capital on Saturday.

A bomb disposal team was sent in to defuse another explosive device afterwards.

The incident comes one day after the Syrian army dismantled several bombs on the main road leading to the northwestern city of Idlib, shortly after a bus travelling in the area was struck by an explosive device and some passengers were injured.

The Syria crisis began in March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of soldiers and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

The Syrian government says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.

Several international human rights organizations say the foreign-sponsored militants have committed war crimes in Syria.