'31 troops killed in blast near Damascus'
Iran Press TV
Sun Nov 17, 2013 7:39PM GMT
At least 31 Syrian troops have been killed after a bomb blast rocked an army base near the capital Damascus, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.
'Three generals and a brigadier-general were among 31 troops killed in a bomb attack that caused a building in the army transport base in Harasta to collapse,' The organization's director Rami Abdel Rahman said on Sunday.
The bomb appeared to have been placed 'either inside or beneath the building in a tunnel', he added.
Earlier in the day, a mortar shell fired by the militants struck areas near al-Sheikh Raslan Mosque in Damascus' Bab Touma district, killing three people and injuring 15 others, including children.
Four people were killed and seventeen others injured in similar mortar attacks hitting several areas in the capital including Bab Sharqi, al-Qassaa, Baghdad Street and al-Abbassiyeen.
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in the violence.
The UN recently warned against the humanitarian situation in Syria, saying that over nine million people are in need of urgent aid due to the crisis in the Middle Eastern country.
On October 7, the UN said over four million other Syrians will be forced out of their homes in 2014 due to the escalating conflict in the country.
PG/HN/AS
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