Russian embassy in Syria hit by mortar fire

The Russian embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus was hit by mortar fire twice but there were no casualties.

Russian Embassy in Damascus, Syria. Photo: Sputnik.

The Russian embassy in Syria was hit by mortar shells twice at 10:00 and 10:19 GMT on December 28, according to RT. One mortar shell landed in the courtyard of the embassy complex but did not explode. The other fell near the diplomatic mission. Bomb experts quickly arrived and neutralized them.

The Russian Foreign Ministry described the attack, carried out by “extremists”, as a provocation aimed at undermining the peace process in Syria. Moscow called on the international community to condemn the act, saying the incident showed the importance of “destroying” extremists in the region.

This is not the first time the Russian diplomatic mission in Syria has been attacked. In October, the Russian embassy was hit by mortar shells, one of which exploded near a residential area but caused only material damage and no casualties.

Russia is an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and has been fighting an opposition campaign to overthrow him since 2011. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says more than 300,000 people have been killed since the start of Syria's civil war.

According to VNE