Rocket attack kills 5 in Syrian capital

At least five people were killed and 36 others wounded Saturday when an improvised rocket struck a busy street in the heart of capital Damascus, the pro-government Sham FM radio reported.

The mortar shell struck the Thawra Street near a footbridge that is usually bustling with people, said the report, spelling no further details.

Rebels in the outskirts of the capital, mainly in the eastern district of Jobar, usually fire mortar shells and improvised rockets that slam into residential neighborhoods of the capital, leaving property losses and death tolls.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the rebels in the eastern countryside of Damascus targeted the Syrian troops' positions at the outskirts of Jobar on Saturday.

It said the neighborhood has been subject to heavy shelling by the Syrian forces.

The UK-based watchdog group also reported heavy battles in the western countryside of Damascus, namely in the suburb of Daraya, where the rebels have recently announced their bid to break the government troops-imposed siege on this neighborhood.