Damascus, June 11 (IANS): At least eight people were killed in a twin bomb attack on a suburb of Damascus which is home to Syria's holiest Shia shrine, state media reported.

Some 13 other people were wounded in the blasts, which were caused by a suicide bomber and a car bomb.

The first blast, by an attacker wearing an explosives belt, took place at the entrance to the suburb while the car bomb attack happened on al-Teen street, not far from the shrine, Sana news agency said.

The golden-domed Sayyida Zeinab shrine contains the grave of one of Prophet Muhammad's grand-daughters, and continues to draw many Shia pilgrims despite the civil war.

The Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah has cited it as a key reason why it chose to fight on the side of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

But this has made this suburb a prime target for the government's enemies, including the IS, the BBC reported.

More than 250,000 people have died and 11 million have fled their homes in more than five years of civil war in Syria.