5 wounded in car bomb blast in Syrian capital

At least five people were wounded when a booby-trapped car went off Saturday in one of the ancient marketplaces of the Syrian capital of Damascus, local media reported.

The explosive-packed car tore through Midhat Basha marketplace, the report said, adding that one of the injured is in critical condition.

Meanwhile, the activists' Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that an explosive device affixed under a car exploded at the Mi'thanat al-Shahm area in the Shaghour neighborhood of Damascus, injuring several people, including three children.

The blasts came amid incessant clashes between the government troops and the armed rebels in several Syrian cities, most notably in the Mediterranean province of Latakia.

The state-TV said that the army troops managed to recapture the village of Khirbat al-Baz in the countryside of Latakia, adding that the troops are haunting down remnants of the armed rebels in the Nabi Shaia Mountain, Sheikh Nabhan, Istirbe and Owbin.

The violence in Latakia erupted last week when the rebels announced the start of their battle to "liberate the coast." Since then, the Syrian army unleashed a counterattack to regain control of some of the villages that were seized by rebels over the past week.