Suicide bombers target police headquarters in central Damascus

Two people were killed and 10 others wounded when three suicide bombers blew themselves up near a police department in Syria's capital Damascus on Wednesday, according to Syrian regime media.

The bombers detonated their explosive belts near the general police department on Khaled Bin al Walid street in the Fahammeh area of Damascus, said the Syrian Interior Ministry.

Two attackers attempted to enter the department and clashed with security guards before blowing themselves up, said the ministry.

Police later found and encircled a third attacker near the entrance of a Damascus market. 

The attacker detonated the explosive belt after failing to storm into the market, the ministry added.

"When we heard a blast, we thought it was from mortar. However, it really shocked us that the sound was caused by a suicide attack. The police informed us that there was still one terrorist at large," said a witness.

"We tried to set up a safe zone, in order to help our security personnel and residents. A man, 16 or 17 years old, found a suspected attacker. Then the suspect pressed his button and was also killed in bombing." 

Security forces cordoned off the surrounding area following the explosions.

A local radio station said four wounded people received treatment at a local hospital and are now said to be in stable conditions.

Daesh claimed that attack. 

The incident came as the army declared on Wednesday it had gained control over the southeastern countryside of Damascus after recapturing an area of over 8,000 square kilometres.

Earlier this month, suicide bombers struck a police station in another part of the capital, with 17 people reported dead. 

US allowing Daesh to operate "under its nose"

Russia accused the United States on Wednesday of allowing Daesh to operate "under its nose" in Syria, saying Washington was letting the militant group move about freely in an area abutting a US military base.

The allegations, made by Russia's Defence Ministry, centre on a US military base at Tanf, a strategic Syrian highway border crossing with Iraq in the south of the country.

Moscow wanted to know how around 300 Daesh militants in pickup trucks had passed through the US-controlled area and tried to block the highway between Damascus and Deir Ezzor.

The highway is used to supply Syrian forces, said Major-General Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian Defence Ministry.

"We suggest the American side also explain about another incidence of their 'selective blindness' towards militants operating under their nose," Konashenkov said in a statement.

The US had not yet given an explanation, he said.

But the US says the Tanf facility is a temporary base used to train partner forces to fight against Daesh.

Russia says the US base is illegal and that it and the area around it have become "a black hole" where militants operate unhindered.

Konashenkov said about 600 militants based in a refugee camp in the US-controlled area had been driven en masse to a former customs post called Tafas on the Syrian-Jordanian border earlier this month, and seized food and medical supplies meant for locals.

"You don't need to be an expert to now forecast an attempt to rupture the peace agreement in the southern de-escalation zone," said Konashenkov.

"We issue a warning. All responsibility for sabotaging the peace process will lay exclusively with the American side."

Pentagon spokesman Colonel Robert Manning on Tuesday said Washington remained committed to killing off Daesh and denying it safe havens and the ability to carry out strikes.