Shells hit Damascus area as Assad attends prayers

Syrian rebels claimed they struck President Bashar Assad's motorcade with rockets and mortar rounds in a rare attack on an upscale Damascus neighborhood where he attended prayers today to mark a major Muslim holiday.
Syrian officials denied that the motorcade was hit, and state TV broadcast images of Assad attending prayers. It was not possible to determine if the footage was filmed before or after the attack. Residents confirmed there was some shelling in the area.
The attack on the Malki district, which houses Assad's residence and office as well as several embassies, nevertheless demonstrated the ability of rebels to strike in the heart of Assad's seat of power and in neighborhoods that until now had been considered relatively safe.

That could shake the regime's confidence and expose its vulnerability at a time when Assad's military forces are continuing to rout rebels from key areas around the capital.
The Malki district has largely been sheltered from the shelling and battles that usually rage in the capital's impoverished suburbs. It was not clear if Assad has stayed in Malki in recent months.
Today marked the Syrian leader's third public appearance in over a week as his regime tries to capitalize on recent gains on the battlefield against rebels fighting to oust him from power.

At least two Syrian rebel brigades claimed they hit Assad's motorcade. Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi dismissed the claims as "rumors" and told state TV that Assad drove his own car to the Anas bin Malik mosque, located in the heart of Malki.

"The news is completely baseless and a mere reflection of the wishes and illusions of some media outlets and the governments standing behind them," al-Zoubi said, referring to the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV channel, which first broadcast the report.
In the state TV broadcast, Assad, dressed in a suit, was seen praying alongside Syria's grand mufti at the start of Eid al-Fitr, the three-day holiday that ends the holy month of Ramadan. The Eid prayers typically take place an hour or two after sunrise. In previous years, Assad has been seen attending them early in the morning.