Syria mortar fire kills 12 in Damascus as rights group accuses regime of barrel bombing civilians
DAMASCUS, Syria -- Syrian state media said mortar shells exploded Tuesday in central Damascus, killing 12 people and wounding scores.
The official SANA news agency said four shells struck in the capital's Shaghour neighborhood on Tuesday morning, as the violence in Syria's three-year civil war continued unabated. More than 150,000 people have been killed already and millions displaced from their homes.
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.
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' opposition-held suburbs.
Human Rights Watch says its activists have documented 85 locations in Aleppo's opposition-held districts that government aircraft shelled with barrel bombs - makeshift, shrapnel-packed explosive devices rolled out of helicopters.
The New York-based group says in a report Tuesday that the attacks occurred between Feb. 22 and April 2.
HRW activists identified the locations after interviewing witnesses and analyzing satellite imagery and video and photographic evidence.