AFP – A shootout erupted Wednesday afternoon behind the building housing the offices of the Prime Minister in Damascus, according to an AFP correspondent on the spot.

Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (OSDH) said for his part that "an exchange of fire is underway between the military and rebels in the area of ​​Mazze, around the Prime Minister's office and the new building under construction at the Embassy of Iran ".

The president of the OSDH, Rami Abderhamane, told AFP that the clash occurred after the firing of rockets into the two buildings, without being able to tell if the rocket had reached their target. 

According to state television, "specialized services raided a hideout of terrorist-mercenaries in the gardens behind al-Razi, killing an undetermined number of and capturing them other ".

An AFP reporter who visited the site heard a shooting near the offices of the Prime Minister. The shots came from a land separating these offices and that of the Iranian embassy.

The AFP could see black smoke and a van of the army equipped with Russian-made machine gun Douchka. The soldiers were also out identity checks.

The attack came hours after a bomb attack claimed by the rebels, for a building of the headquarters located near the hotel that houses the UN delegation in central Damascus.

The bombing, which injured five at a military site, occurred in the parking lot of the staff.

An officer explained that the explosion occurred at O8H00 (O5H00 GMT) when "recruits did their physical exercises and received their instructions, as every day."

According to an AFP journalist, the bomb was placed at the back of a tanker, whose tank was ripped open. Several military vehicles were burned and the walls of the building adjoining the Union of Workers. Windows were also broken.

The Syrian Army rebels free (ASL, composed of deserters and civilians who took up arms) have claimed responsibility, saying it was a "military meeting in an office of the General Staff which are decided the day's operations in Damascus. "