Mortar attack kills five in Syria

At least five people were killed and many more injured Tuesday when a mortar shell struck a district in the central province of Homs in Syria, media reported.

The mortar shell struck a residential area in the pro-government district of al-Sabil in Homs, killing five and causing property losses in the area, Xinhua reported citing the state news agency SANA, adding that three school children were injured earlier Tuesday by shelling in the same area.

Also in Homs, Syrian troops Tuesday thwarted an infiltration attempt by the rebels from their positions in the al-Waer neighbourhood toward the surrounding orchards, SANA said. The Syrian forces also struck the rebel positions in the towns of Kafrlaha and Taldo near the countryside of Homs.

Government troops have recently ramped up their assaults on rebel fighters in central and southern Syria. Observers believe it is a new tactic to achieve more progress against the rebels by taking advantage of the US-led airstrikes against the Islamic State militants.

Homs, Syria's third largest province, was one of the first provinces to have sympathised with the anti-government movement in the country. The rebels there have taken considerable swathes of land, but government troops have stripped them of their territory over the past year.

The country's three-year crisis started in mid-March 2011, when anti-government protesters took to the streets calling for reforms, but rapidly evolved into a civil war. So far, more than 190,000 people have been killed and about one-third of Syria's population have been forced to leave their homes.