Security measures stepped up in Syria's capital after Monday blast

Military checkpoints in Damascus ramped up their inspection measures on Tuesday, a day after armed militants infiltrated into a northern district in the Syrian capital, witnesses said.

A small group of insurgents in camouflages sneaked into the Rukn Addien neighborhood, north of Damascus, on Monday, attacking a Syrian military facility.

One of the assailants was a suicide bomber who detonated near the military logistics facility.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the blast injured a brigadier who is the head of the military facility, but local reports said later that the officer escaped unscathed.

Syria's state-run TV aired footage after the incident, showing the bodies of assailants, with a caption reading that the army had foiled the attack and killed all of the attackers.

Even though the attack had largely failed, the incident itself showed the possibility of further breaches into the capital.

Local media said the assailants passed through checkpoints with fake military IDs.

The beefed up security measures have snarled traffic in Damascus as each car scrutinized, especially those with men in military uniform.

Local media said all uniformed military personnel are required produce identifications, including where they are serving.

Witnesses and pro-government media said the soldiers are also confiscating unauthorized motorcycles in the capital.

The al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, which has recently made notable progress against government troops, claimed responsibility for Monday's attack, saying three of its militants were involved.

The group and likeminded militants have over the past month stripped the government forces of key areas in northwestern Syria and a border crossing with Jordan.

On Monday, the group announced the start of a campaign against Syrian forces and the allied Lebanese Hezbollah fighters in Qalamoun, a mountain range in the northern countryside of Damascus, close to the Lebanese border.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported intense clashes in the slopes of Qalamoun between the Nusra Front and allied militants on one side and Hezbollah and Syrian troops on the other.

The opposition Sham Network also reported the beginning of the battles in the western part of Qalamoun.

On Sunday, a Nusra-affiliated Twitter page posted photos purporting to show Nusra militants training on the use of anti-tank weapons in Qalamoun.

"The Mujahedeen have trained on all kinds of weapons in training camps. They are almost ready to free their villages," read the caption of one of the photos.

Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the Observatory, said Syrian rebels have recently received weapons from outside the country, which contributed to their advance.

The rebels' recent progress and the closure of a border crossing with Jordan have pushed the Syrian pound to sharply decline against the U.S. dollar.

However, the Syrian Central Bank on Monday pumped up to 200 million dollars into the market to prop up the local currency, according to official media.

Government troops also stepped up their strikes on rebels in the eastern rim of Damascus. Endit