At least one Syrian soldier was killed when a car bomb exploded outside a Defence Ministry building in Damascus on Tuesday, the ministry said.An Army unit ⁠had ‌discovered a bomb ​near the building in the capital's Bab Sharqi district and was trying to dismantle it when the car bomb went off nearby, the ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency Sana.The blast killed one soldier and wounded several others, it added.Syria’s Health Ministry said at least 23 people were ⁠wounded and were ​transferred to ‌hospitals ​nearby.Earlier, Al Ekhbariya TV quoted a security source as saying the explosion tool place near an armament management centre in Damascus.No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.Najib Al Khoury, who lives nearby in the Bab Touma area, said he was at home with his mother when they heard “intense gunfire”, followed by a powerful explosion. “We felt a strong tremor during the explosion and we did not know where the source was. We heard on WhatsApp groups that the explosion had occurred at the Armament Administration near us,” he told The National. “I usually park my car in the area where the explosion occurred. When I arrived at the site, I found my car completely damaged because of its proximity to the blast.”He said he is still paying for the car in instalments but “for now I am happy because I was not inside the car at the moment the explosion occurred”.“From the security side, the security forces are doing what they must to protect the area, but these things happen everywhere,” he said.Earlier this month, a Syrian Shiite cleric was killed in an explosion near the Sayyida Zaynab shrine in southern Damascus.Farhan Al Mansour, preacher at the shrine, died from injuries sustained when a hand grenade exploded, state news agency Sana said.Syria is struggling to recover from a nearly 14-year civil war that ended with the removal of former President Bashar Al Assad in 2024.The Syrian economy has been devastated by the war, which began in 2011 after an uprising against the Bashar Al Assad regime. The UN Development Programme estimates cumulative losses, including physical damage and economic deprivation, at $923 billion as of the end of last year. The estimated cost of reconstruction has varied from $250 billion to $500 billion.