Damascus - A car bomb in the Syrian capital Damascus killed at least 17 civilians and wounded 14 other persons Saturday morning in an attack which the government condemned as a "cowardly act."The bomb, which exploded near a secret service facility, was believed to be targeting a senior intelligence official who was in the building at the time, Lebanese media reported.

There were no immediate reports whether this person was killed or injured.

Witnesses in the area, however, said some of the killed were intelligence men in plain clothes who were killed near the secret service headquarters.

The Syrian news agency SANA said earlier the bomb went off near the busy Sayyida Zainab district at 8:45 am.

Both SANA and Lebanese media reports said the car was rigged with 200 kilograms of explosives.

"This is a cowardly act and it took place in a crowded area, killing 17 and wounding 14," Syrian Interior Minister Colonel Bassam Abdel Majid told Syrian television.

He said an investigation had been launched to find the culprits. -DPA