Updated March 16, 2017 02:03:28

Photo: The first attack targeted the Palace of Justice in central Damascus. (Reuters: Omar Sanadiki)

At least 30 people have been killed in twin suicide bomb attacks at a court house and a restaurant in Damascus, state media has reported, in the second double suicide attack in the Syrian capital in five days.

The first attack, which happened at 1:20pm (local time) on Wednesday, targeted the Palace of Justice in central Damascus, not far from the Old City.

State news agency SANA initially said there were "a number of wounded" in addition to the death toll of 25, before later raising the death toll to 30.

Around an hour later, a second suicide bomber set off an explosive device inside a restaurant in the Al-Rabweh area.

Several casualties were reported from the second blast.

The first attack happened when the bomber set off his explosive device as police tried to search him and stop him from entering the Palace of Justice, state television cited the Damascus police chief as saying.

A man wearing a military uniform and carrying a shotgun and grenades arrived at the entrance to the palace, the police chief said.

The guards stopped him, took away his weapons and asked to search him.

At that point, the man hurled himself inside the building and detonated his explosives, the chief said.

Syria's Attorney-General, Ahmad al-Sayed, confirmed that account to state TV, saying: "This is a dirty action as people who enter the palace are innocent".

Mr Al-Sayed noted that the timing of the explosion was planned to kill the largest number of lawyers, judges and other people who were there at the time.

On Saturday, scores of people, most of them Iraqi Shiite pilgrims, were killed in a double suicide attack in Damascus claimed by an alliance of jihadist groups known as Tahrir al-Sham.

ABC/wires

Topics: terrorism, unrest-conflict-and-war, syrian-arab-republic

First posted March 16, 2017 01:04:42