BEIRUT (AFP) - The toll from a Friday car bomb explosion at a mosque in Suq Wadi Barada near Damascus soared to at least 40, including seven children, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Syrian government and opposition exchanged blame for the carnage in the town.

Suq Wadi Barada is under rebel control and ringed by troops loyal to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.