Militants Allegedly Kill Nine, Injure 16 in Mortar Attacks in Damascus

A mortar shelling in the Syrian capital of Damascus has claimed the lives of at least nine civilians, a local hospital employee said Sunday.

According to reports, mines exploded in the Al-Vafidin refugee camp and the Al-Assad and Al-Abbasiyyin neighborhoods in Damascus.

"According to our data, nine were killed, and 16 were taken by the cars of the Red Crescent to hospitals. The sustained injuries are of varying severity," the medical employee told RIA Novosti.

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with opposition factions and Islamist terrorist groups such as Daesh and the al-Nusra Front fighting the Syrian Army.