Syrian president visits Damascus university

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appeared on Saturday among hundreds of students to inaugurate a monument at the Damascus University, local media said. The report spelled no further details, but the president's appearance came in a show of respect to the souls of the Syrian students who were killed during the country's two-year crisis. In a photo released by the Presidential Media Office, al-Assad appeared mobbed by tens of students while he was trying to make his way into the university's building. In March, mortar fire hit the Faculty of Architecture Engineering in the University of Damascus, killing 15 students. In January, bombings targeted the University of Aleppo in northern Syria and killed at least 82 people. Assad has recently increased his public appearances as a show of confidence as his troops are making strides in their fights against the Western-backed armed rebellion across the country, mainly in the central region. On May 1, al-Assad visited workers at the Umayyad Electricity Station, which is located in the huge Tishreen Park in Damascus, to mark Labor Day with the station's workers. The embattled leaders' appearance Saturday also came as reports have been flaring about a fresh Israeli airstrike that hit a position inside Syria. Israeli has reportedly confirmed the airstrike that has targeted a convoy of weapons allegedly destined for the Lebanese Hezbollah group. Syria has yet to comment on the incident, which, if true, would be the second Israeli airstrike to target Syria during the country 's crisis. In January, the Syrian military said an Israeli air strike targeted a military research center in the area of Jamraya, northwest of Damascus. The Syrian government accused Israel of trying to ease the mission of the armed rebels on ground.