AMMAN (Reuters) - A large bomb exploded in an area housing security and army compounds west of Umayyad Square in central Damascus on Thursday, opposition activists said.

Islamist groups Ahfad al-Rasoul and Ansar al-Islam said in a joint statement they planted bombs in a compound belonging to State Security in the area.

Syrian state television said a "terrorist explosion" had injured two people. Witnesses said soldiers in full combat gear were deployed in the area and all roads leading to Umayyad Square were cut.

Ansar al-Islam claimed responsibility for a bomb attack last month on the army's Chief of Staff headquarters in Umayyad Square, which started a large fire in the building.

(Reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis, Amman newsroom; editing by Andrew Roche)