At least six people were killed and 15 others injured when a booby-trap car bomb exploded in a southern suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus on Sunday night

At least six people were killed and 15 others injured when a booby-trap car bomb exploded in a southern suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus on Sunday night as the Syrian army was advancing in Al-Qusayr, the official SANA news agency reported.

The blast, which occurred in the area of al-Kiswa, claimed the lives of a mother and her child.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast, but such attacks bear the hallmarks of al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front, which seek to destabilize the Syrian government.

The attack came as the Syrian army made more gains in its fight against foreign-backed militants in the strategic town of al-Qusayr, a former militant stronghold in the western province of Homs.

According to Syrian sources, government troops on Sunday managed to retake control of a media center and Ahli Hospital, which was being used by the militants as a field hospital. They also cleared al-Hamidiyeh town, in al-Qusayr countryside, of militants fighting against the government, killing scores of militants.