Mortars kill 15 students in Syrian capital
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E-mail Xinhua, March 29, 2013
At least 15 university students were killed when multiple mortar shells hit the University of Damascus in central the Syrian capital Thursday, state media reported.
Two mortars slammed the cafeteria of the university's Faculty of Architecture Engineering, which is located in the central district of Bramikeh, the Sham FM radio said.
In the meantime, state-TV ran footage of the mortar-stricken faculty, showing scattered human remains tossed on ground with forensics and paramedics franticly removing them along with the injured students.
Pools of blood were seen mingled with students' pens and books as the dead bodies were thrown on the faculty's yard.
Meanwhile, witnesses told Xinhua that two other shells landed on a river near Four Seasons Hotel and the nearby Damarose Hotel in the capital, while another mortar shell hit a mosque in the upscale district of Malki in central Damascus. But no injuries have yet been reported.
Also, in the capital's district of Abbasyeen, three were wounded by a sniper nesting on a building rooftop, who, according to local media, is a member of the rebel Free Syrian Army.
The rebels have increasingly resorted to mortar attacks against government institutions over the past months. Yet, those mortars seldom reached their targets and instead landed on residential buildings and other populated areas, causing casualties and spreading panic.
An average of eight mortars per day slammed several parts of Damascus, mainly the Umayyad Square where the state TV and the army's chief of command headquarters are located.
