Fire from rebel area kills six in Syria capital

At least six people were killed and 45 others were wounded in rocket and mortar fire on several parts of Syria's capital Damascus on Thursday, state media said.

State news agency SANA said the attacks originated from the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta region outside the capital, and called it a "breach" of a truce deal in the area.

They hit several parts of the capital, including the well-known Sabaa Bahrat and Abassiyeen squares.

One attack witnessed by AFP journalists sent huge clouds of dust into the air, temporarily obscuring the view from the surrounding buildings.

Debris from the attack landed several floors up, and emergency workers rushed to the scene to tend to the injured and remove the body of one dead person.

Eastern Ghouta is one of four areas in Syria where so-called "de-escalation zones" are in place, as part of a deal agreed in May by regime allies Russia and Iran, and rebel backer Turkey.

The zones have reduced violence, but in recent days there has been heavy fighting between government forces and rebels in Eastern Ghouta, with warplanes carrying out regular strikes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.

The Britain-based war monitor said Thursday that 26 civilians, including five children, had been killed in strikes and shelling in the past 48 hours.

Another 37 regime soldiers and allied fighters were also killed in the clashes, the monitor said, adding it did not have a toll for rebels killed in the violence.

Eastern Ghouta is one of the last rebel strongholds in Syria, and has been devastated by fighting and a tight government siege.

More than 330,000 people have been killed since Syria's war began with anti-government protests in March 2011.

Source: AFP