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Syria TV: Twin explosions near Damascus, casualties reported

Associated Press
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In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrians gather around damaged buildings after a bombing attack at the Sayyida Zeinab suburb, Damascus, Syria, Saturday, June 11, 2016. Two bombs went off Saturday near the Syrian capital, killing at least eight people and wounding over a dozen others in the latest attack to hit the predominantly Shiite area in recent months, state TV and an opposition activist group said. (SANA via AP) (The Associated Press)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, doctors treat a man who was injured in the bombing attack in the Sayyida Zeinab suburb, at a hospital in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, June 11, 2016. Two bombs went off Saturday near the Syrian capital, killing at least eight people and wounding over a dozen others in the latest attack to hit the predominantly Shiite area in recent months, state TV and an opposition activist group said. (SANA via AP) (The Associated Press)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows a victim who was injured in the bombing attack in the Sayyida Zeinab suburb carried on a stretcher into a hospital in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, June 11, 2016. Two bombs went off Saturday near the Syrian capital, killing at least eight people and wounding over a dozen others in the latest attack to hit the predominantly Shiite area in recent months, state TV and an opposition activist group said. (SANA via AP) (The Associated Press)

Syrian state TV says two explosions have gone off near the Syrian capital, resulting in multiple casualties.

It says blasts occurred Saturday in the Sayyida Zeinab area outside Damascus. The suburb is home to one of Shiite Islam's most renowned shrines by the same name.

Syrian TV says the first explosion was the result of a car bomb in al-Teen street and the second blast, the cause of which remains unclear, took place at the entrance of Ziabiyeh district.

Sayyida Zeinab has been a frequent target of suicide and car bombings in Syria's civil war, now in its sixth year. Some of them have been claimed by the Islamic State group.