At least 40 people have been killed and 170 injured in two bomb blasts in the capital of Syria, according to the country's state TV.

This is dramatic footage from carnage as filmed by local video journalists. Security forces sealed off affected areas of what has been described as 'terrorist explosions' in a district in the south of Damascus early this morning. Here you can see the mangled wreckage of at least 10 burnt out cars after one of the blasts happened near the Qazaz intersection of the capital's southern ring-road. Some of the crews from emergency services are damping down the charred metal, and others are making their way through the smoke and debris looking for any potential survivors, although the longer you watch this footage, it seems highly unlikely.

Footage obtained from You Tube - which can't be independently verified - shot by an activist group called the Union of Syrian Youth has also been released. Here smoke billows from one another site that was hit – apparently a military intelligence complex. There's no word yet on what caused the blasts or if anyone has claimed responsibility for the attacks.