Renewed mortar shelling kills 2 students in Damascus

At least two university students were killed on Thursday when mortar rounds struck their faculty, as part of a renewed mortar shelling that targeted several districts of the capital Damascus, sources and witnesses said.

Three mortar shells slammed into the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering on Thursday morning, killing two students and wounding three others, sources told Xinhua.

In another attack Thursday, at least 11 civilians were wounded when a mortar shell exploded at the Damascus' district of Zablatani, sources said.

Another mortar struck near the Russian embassy in the al-Mazraa district in Damascus, leaving three people wounded.

In the al-Adawi district, two mortar shells struck near a school, leaving property losses, while another one landed near the Ministry of Social Affairs with no information on losses yet.

Several other shells hit the districts of Bab Sharqi and Sheikh Reslan in the old quarter of Damascus.

The latest attacks hold their significance as they came just a day after reports emerged about talks between the government and the rebels in eastern Damascus to reach a ceasefire.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based watchdog group, said Wednesday evening several rebel groups and the Syrian army were discussing an agreement to achieve a ceasefire in Damascus and its eastern countryside as of Thursday.

The monitor group, however, said Thursday morning that the ceasefire talks, which were reportedly mediated by Russia, have failed with no information about the reasons behind their failure or whether there will be new rounds of talks. Endit