Deadly mortar rounds hit central Damascus neighborhood

Two mortar rounds hit into the central Abu Roumaneh neighborhood of the Syrian capital Damascus on Saturday, killing a child and injuring 11 people, state news agency SANA reported.

The agency also said the blasts caused “material damage.”

“Two mortar shells fired by terrorists landed in front of the Dar Al-Salaam school in Nejma Square in Damascus,” the agency said, using the term “terrorists” to refer to opposition fighters seeking to oust the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

The agency said the child killed in the attack was eight years old and that the shells damaged several shops and cars, according to The Associated Press.

On Wednesday, two mortar rounds hit Syria’s central bank in Damascus’s Sabaa Bahrat Square, and a week earlier a mortar round hit the Iraqi consulate, killing a woman, according to Agence France-Presse.

Opposition forces have increasingly targeted central neighborhoods of Damascus with mortar rounds, firing from their rear bases on the outskirts of the capital.

The Abu Roumaneh area is several hundred meters away from a hotel where international inspectors are based during their mission to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons, according to AP.

(With AFP and AP)