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At least 18 Syrian government soldiers have died in a bomb blast near the capital Damascus, state media say, in one of the deadliest attacks in months.

At least another 20 soldiers were injured when the bomb was detonated on an army bus on Thursday morning.

No group has yet said it was responsible.

Such attacks are relatively rare near Damascus, but there have been two similar blasts on buses transporting military personnel in the past year.

In February, one soldier was killed, while last October 14 people died in what was at the time the worst such attack in the Syrian capital for four years.

In response, the government shelled a rebel-held town in the north-western Syria. Four children - who were walking to school - were among those killed in that attack.

Syria was thrown into civil war after a peaceful uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2011 escalated.

The conflict has left about 500,000 people dead, devastated cities and drawn in other countries.

Millions of Syrians have been forced to flee their homes.