A gas pipeline was attacked near Damascus causing the capital and the southern part of Syria to suffer a blackout. The electricity minister blamed the blast on rebels.
"A terrorist attack on a gas pipeline that feeds a power station in the south has led to a power outage in the provinces, and work to repair it is in progress," electricity minister Emad Khamis told SANA news agency.
As the pipeline is located near Damascus International Airport, which is some 20 km away from the capital, a power outage also hit Damascus.