Five people were killed and more than 20 wounded Wednesday as rebels fired a barrage of mortar rounds on the Syrian capital of Damascus, state media and an activist group reported.
"More than 50 mortar shells targeted several areas in Damascus, killing at least one woman and wounding more than 20 others, some in serious condition," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The shelling targeted the neighborhoods of Kassa'a, Bab Touma, Mezze 86, Abu Rummana, the area around the Russian embassy, Mazraa, Baramka, Baghdad street, Adawi, al-Kazzaz, the Faculty of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering and other areas in the old city of Damascus and Umayyad Square, the Observatory added.
State television said in a breaking news alert that "terrorists shelled residential neighborhoods in Damascus, killing a number of citizens and wounding others," without giving further details on casualties.
It also reported material damage caused the heavy rocket fire.
Rebels often fire into the Syrian capital from nearby bases on the outskirts of Damascus, including at times barrages of hundreds of missiles.
Rights groups have condemned the indiscriminate rebel shelling on the capital, saying it amounts to war crimes.
The government regularly carries out airstrikes against rebel-held areas on the outskirts of Damascus, particularly the Eastern Ghouta region, which is also under regime siege.
