42 killed in attacks on Syrian capital

Beirut, Feb 5 (IANS/EFE) At least 42 people were killed Thursday and some 190 others were wounded in rocket attacks by rebel militias and airstrikes by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad on Syria's capital Damascus and its suburbs, official media and activists reported.

A spokesman for the Syrian interior ministry told Efe news agency that at least seven people were killed and 50 others injured in the capital when "infidel terrorists" fired at least 75 projectiles into the city.

One of the rockets hit the Zeituna church in the old part of Damascus, three others fell near the Umayyad mosque, 10 landed in the vicinity of the Four Seasons and Cham Palace hotels, five fell in neighbourhoods mostly inhabited by Christians, and dozens more landed in the areas near universities.

One of the missiles struck an area located close to the headquarters of the official Syrian news agency, SANA.

The sound of explosions began to be heard in the early morning in Damascus, where Syrian air force pilots were also seen flying at low altitude to attack rocket launchers in Eastern Guta, the main opposition stronghold on the outskirts of the capital.

Regime forces doubled the number of air raids they have been carrying out on the cities of Duma, Arbin, and Eastern Guta, leaving at least 35 people dead, including four children, and wounding 100 others.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said at least five people were killed, including a policeman, when the insurgent Jaysh al-Islam (Army of Islam) militia fired 63 rockets from Eastern Guta, the main opposition stronghold on the outskirts of the capital.

The leader of Jaysh al-Islam, Zahran Alush, issued a statement two days back in which he declared the Syrian capital a "military zone".

He explained that he took this decision to counter the bombings carried out by regime forces in Duma and other towns in Eastern Guta, and in light of the concentration of barracks, security centres, rocket bases and police checkpoints in Damascus.

Alush urged civilians, members of diplomatic mission and students not to approach any military barracks or checkpoints starting as from Wednesday morning until further notice.

More than 200,000 people have died since the Syrian civil war began in March 2011, according to figures verified by the UN.

--IANS/EFE

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