At least 18 people were killed and dozens wounded in a series of bombings across mostly government-controlled areas of Syria today, state media reported.

The blasts hit government-held Tartus and Homs, as well as Hasakeh, which is mostly controlled by Kurdish forces but where the regime maintains a presence. 

State media said at least 11 people had been killed and 45 injured in a double bomb attack just outside the city of Tartus, in the coastal province of the same name, which is a stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad's government. 

"Two terrorist blasts on Arzuna bridge, the first a car bomb and the second a suicide bomber who detonated his explosive belt when people gathered to help the wounded," state television said.

State media also reported five people killed in Hasakeh, in the northeast of the country.