Mortar shells hit Damascus school, 14 killed

State media says at least 50 wounded in rebel bombardment

By AP and AFP 29 April 2014, 12:31 pm

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Exploding mortar shells fill the sky with black smoke in Damascus, Syria, in September 2013. (photo credit: AP/United media office of Arbeen)

DAMASCUS, Syria — Mortar shells exploded in central Damascus, killing 14 people and wounding scores, Syrian state media said Tuesday.

The official SANA news agency said four shells struck in the capital’s Shaghour neighborhood on Tuesday morning with some hitting a school.

Fourteen citizens were killed and 86 others wounded by terrorists who targeted the Shaghur neighbourhood in Damascus with four mortar shells,” the SANA news agency said, adding that two shells hit the Badr al-Din al-Hussein institute.

An official at the Damascus Police Command told The Associated Press that at least 50 people were wounded in the attack and that two of the mortar shells hit a school complex. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

The institute is reportedly an Islamic law center where students from Syria and abroad study religious jurisprudence.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the mortar attack, saying the toll was higher, with 17 people killed.

SANA said terrorists were behind the attacks — a term used by President Bashar Assad’s government for rebels fighting to oust him.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Rebels have frequently fired mortars into the capital from Damascus’s opposition-held suburbs.