1 dead in mortar attack near Russian embassy in Damascus

Mortar rounds fell near the Russian embassy in the Syrian capital on Thursday, killing one person, in the second such attack this week, a monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the unidentified man died after "two mortar rounds struck near the Russian embassy in the Mazraa neighbourhood" of Damascus.

Citing a high-ranking police official, Syria's official SANA news agency reported that "terrorists targeted the residential Mazraa neighbourhood with two mortar shells, which killed one person and wounded three others".

It said there was damage to homes, cars and shops.

A mortar attack on the Russian embassy on Tuesday had caused property damage but no casualties.

Russia's foreign ministry said the source of Tuesday's mortar fire "seemed to come from the Jobar area, which is under the control of illegitimate armed groups".

Moscow is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The UN Security Council condemned Tuesday's attack, with Lithuania's UN ambassador Raimonda Murmokaite saying "considerable damage" had been done to buildings.

The US reiterated its call for a political solution in Syria, which has been ravaged by a four-year-old war that has killed more than 220,000 people.
Source: AFP