AP -- A large explosion rocked the Syrian capital early Thursday, followed by a fire near the Damascus airport, activists and a monitor said.
The explosion was heard across the capital, jolting residents awake, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdurrahman said. He said the explosion was reported to have happened near the Damascus airport road.
The dawn explosion was also reported by other activists' networks but the source was unclear.
The explosion near the airport road was followed by flames rising above the area. A pro-government site Damascus Now said the explosion was near the city's Seventh Bridge, which leads to the airport road.
Syria is in the sixth year of a bloody civil war pitting the government of President Bashar Assad and his allies against opposition forces that has left more than 400,000 people dead.