A mortar shelling in the Syrian capital of Damascus has claimed the lives of at least nine civilians, a local hospital employee said Sunday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to reports, mines exploded in the Al-Vafidin refugee camp and the Al-Assad and Abbasiin districts in the center of Damascus.

"According to our data, nine were killed, 16 were taken by cars of the Red Crescent to hospitals. The sustained injuries are of varying severity," the medical employee told RIA Novosti.

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with opposition factions and ISIS terrorist groups such as Daesh and the al-Nusra Front fighting the Syrian Army.

 

By Sputnik