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

MOSCOW (Sputnik)�� According to�reports, mines exploded in�the Al-Vafidin refugee camp and the Al-Assad and Abbasiin districts in�the center of�Damascus.

"According to�our data, nine were killed, 16 were taken by�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 ISIS terrorist groups such as�Daesh and the al-Nusra Front fighting the Syrian Army.

 

By Sputnik