Syrian rebel mortar attacks kill ten in Damascus: state media

Published August 24th, 2015 - 04:00 GMT
Smoke rises from an explosion in the Syrian capital of Damascus. (AFP/File)
Smoke rises from an explosion in the Syrian capital of Damascus. (AFP/File)

Militant mortar attacks around the Syrian capital, Damascus, have left ten people dead and 53 others wounded.

Syrian official news agency, SANA, reported on Sunday that the mortar shells targeted the Central Prison and the al-Wafedeen Camp.

The Syrian Interior Ministry and a police source said five mortar shells hit the Central Prison in Adra district, killing ten, including several prison guards, and injuring 50 people.

Three more mortar strikes carried out by militants hit three residential houses in the al-Wafedeen Camp in the Damascus countryside, injuring three people.

Al-Wafedeen Camp houses thousands of displaced families forced out of their homes in the Golan area after the territory was occupied by the Israeli regime forces in 1967

Six women are said to be among the fatalities.

Militant attacks on Saturday on the al-Wafedeen Camp and also in Harasta area in the Damascus countryside had left four other civilians injured.

The Syrian army has been carrying out military operations against the militants holed up in the suburbs of the capital in past months, killing a huge number of foreign and foreign-backed militants.

The conflict has claimed more than 240,000 lives up until now, according to estimates.

More than 7.2 million Syrians have been internally displaced and more than four million others have been forced to flee to neighboring countries, including Jordan and Lebanon.

This article has been modified from the source material.

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