Seventeen dead in a car bomb blast in Syria's capital Damascus

The car packed with 200 kilos (440 pounds) of explosives blew up near a security checkpoint on a road to Damascus airport in what Interior Minister General Bassam Abdel Majeed told state television was "a terrorist act."

The bombing, on the road to the city's main airport, was the third major attack in the tightly-controlled country this year.

There was no indication of who might have carried it out.

"This is definitely a terrorism attack that occurred in a crowded area. This is a cowardly attack," Majeed told state television. He said 14 people were wounded in the attack, although witnesses said the number was much higher.

The district is popular among Shiite pilgrims from Iran, Lebanon and Iraq who pray at the tomb of Zeinab, daughter of the Shiite martyr Ali and granddaughter of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed.

More than two million people reportedly visit the shrine each year.

Security forces cordoned off the area but witnesses said the security centre's main building appeared to have suffered little damage.

CHALLENGE TO SYRIAN AUTHORITIES

Syrian authorities pride themselves on maintaining stability in the country of 19 million people by cracking down on dissent and opposition but their control has been challenged by a series of violent events.

The attack was the first explosion in Damascus since the car bomb assassination of Imad Moughniyah, military commander of the Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah, in February. Hezbollah blames Israel for that attack although Israel denies it.

Last month, a senior security commander who was the International Atomic Energy Agency's main Syrian contact was shot dead at a beach resort near the port of Tartous in mysterious circumstances.

The country has also witnessed violence by Muslim militants in recent years with security forces clashing with militant groups on some occasions.

In September 2006, four Syrians tried to storm the U.S. embassy in Damascus in a bold attack in which four assailants and a Syrian guard were killed.

Syria has been ruled by the Baath party since it took power in a coup in 1963 and banned all opposition. The security apparatus is key to Syria's support for Hezbollah, which fought a war with Israel in 2006 and wields huge influence on government.

The country is also home to the Palestinian Islamist group's Hamas leadership and is under pressure to scale back links with the group, Iran, and Hezbollah in recent indirect peace talk rounds with Israel.

The U.S.-backed Iraqi government is also pushing Damascus to stop anti-U.S. rebels from infiltrating over the border.

The blast occurred as Syria is emerging from international isolation due to its peace talks with Israel and cooperation on Lebanon.

This month French President Nicolas Sarkozy became the first Western head of state to pay an official visit to Syria since the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

French officials believed the attack was orchestrated from Syria, the former military power in neighbouring Lebanon.

WORLD COMDEMNED

The attack was condemned by Syria’s ally Russia as well as France, Jordan and Lebanon.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sent a cable of condolences to his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad describing the attack as "a cruel and inhumane crime," the Kremlin website said.

Sarkozy condemned the "barbarian and blind" attack and expressed "solidarity with Syria in its fight against terrorism," his office said in a statement.

Lebanon's Administrative Development Minister Ibrahim Shamseddin called it a "a criminal and terrorist act" while Jordan’s King Abdullah II also condemned the bombing.