Fresh mortar attack kills 4 in Syria's capital

At least four people were killed and five others wounded on Sunday, when four mortar shells slammed a neighborhood east of the capital Damascus, a medical source told Xinhua.

The mortars, fired from rebel-held areas east of Damascus, have slammed the Qishleh street in the predominantly-Christian

neighborhood of Bab Touma east of Damascus, said the source on condition of anonymity, adding that all wounded five will have some of their limbs amputated.

The attack is the latest in a string of intensified terror attacks the capital has been suffering from, after a long period of lull.

Last Wednesday, three suicide bombers attempted to infiltrate the Police Department of Damascus, and upon failing to do so, they blew themselves up near the department.

Two of the bombers had planned to enter the department from its main gate in the Khaled Bin al-Walid street in the Fahammeh area in the heart of Damascus. The bombers clashed with the guards before detonating their explosive belts in front of the department's building.

The third bomber fled toward a nearby market for selling second-hand clothes and blew himself up while being pursued by a policeman.

Local media cited websites close to IS militants as saying that the terror group was behind the blasts.

On Oct. 2, two suicide bombers blew themselves up at the police station in Damascus' central Midan neighborhood, killing 17 people, including policemen.

At the time, IS claimed responsibility for the bombings, making targeting of the government institutions in Damascus a pattern of IS suicide attacks.

The mortar attacks had been a daily occurrence in Damascus, before the Syrian army and the rebels agreed to a de-escalation zones' deal supported by Russia and Turkey, which brought in a clam to the capital.

Still, groups affiliated with the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front are still holding positions in the Ghouta area, which explains the frequent attacks.

source: xinhua