A car bomb has exploded in the business district of the Syrian capital Damascus killing 10 people and leaving at least 45 injured.

A government official said the explosion occurred at one of the capital’s biggest roundabouts in Sabaa Bahrat, the city’s main business district, which houses the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance.

A resident described the explosion as the biggest she had heard in the capital and said that large plumes of smoke were rising from the area.

Extensive damage has been reported in the latest attack on government-held Damascus by Syrian rebels who have increased the number of mortar and car bomb attacks on the city in recent months.

The bomb comes as the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, said that he had a team ready to deploy to Syria within 24 hours to investigate claims of chemical weapon use by both sides.

Speaking after meeting with the head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague, Mr Ban said: “The use of chemical weapons, by any side under any circumstances, would constitute a crime against humanity.”

Mr Ban said he is waiting for agreement from the Syrian government to allow him to send the team, which is currently awaiting orders in Cyprus, and urged Bashar Assad’s regime to be “flexible” so the investigation could be launched as soon as possible.

Both the rebels and the government have claimed chemical weapons have been used in attacks and that each has the capability to deploy the devices in the ongoing conflict.

The Syrian-based human rights group, Violations Documentation Centre, reported that 9,000 government troops have been killed in the two years of fighting between President Bashar Assad’s forces and the Free Syrian Army of rebels trying to overthrow him.

More than 70,000 people have died since the Syrian uprising started in March 2011.

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