Some 48 Iranian pilgrims have been kidnapped from a bus in the vicinity of a shrine near the Syrian capital Damascus, reports say.

Iranian diplomats blamed the abduction, from close to the Shia shrine of Sayyida Zainab, on "armed groups".

Syrian state television later gave the same account of the incident.

Meanwhile, fresh fighting has been reported around Damascus, and in the northern city of Aleppo, where rebels are trying to secure their positions.