The blast took place near the capital’s Palace of Justice, a key government building, sparking scenes of panic in the busy area.
An AFP correspondent saw ambulances weaving their way through traffic with their sirens blaring as they headed to the site, and security forces cordoned off the area of the blast.
“The explosion that occurred in a cafe near the Palace of Justice in Damascus resulted from an explosive device planted in the location,” state television said, after earlier reporting that authorities were seeking to determine the source of the blast.
Nour Khayyat, 40, who owns a shop selling batteries for solar panels near the site of the explosion, told AFP that “at about 3:00 p.m. (1200 GMT), I heard a powerful blast and the storefront shook.”
“People rushed to the cafe and called ambulances,” he added.
Mohammed Al-Zahabi, the owner of a glasses shop next to the targeted cafe, was trembling as he told AFP that “after the blast, I felt strong pressure, and the whole place shook.”
“I ran to the place and saw people lying on the floor with blood pooled around them everywhere,” he added, saying the scenes recalled the blasts that Damascus experienced during the nearly 14-year civil war.
Damascus has been the site of multiple attacks and incidents since the new authorities took over following the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar Assad in December 2024.
The deadliest came in June 2025, when an attack on a Damascus church killed 25 people.
The suicide attack was later claimed by an extremist Sunni group, while the authorities blamed it on the Daesh group.