Russian embassy in Damascus comes under mortar fire

By Mahmoud Barakat

ANKARA

The Russian embassy in Syrian capital Damascus came under mortar attack on Wednesday, the official Sputnik news agency has quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying.

The embassy building “came under mortar fire by terrorists", Sputnik reported, noting that the attack had not led to any casualties.

Nevertheless, the news agency added, the embassy building had sustained “a certain level of damage”.

The Russian Foreign Ministry, for its part, went on to express its “strong condemnation” of what it described as a “terrorist attack” on its diplomatic mission.

On July 16, the same embassy came under a similar mortar attack, according to Sputnik.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

In late 2015, Russia began extensive air operations in Syria -- at Assad’s invitation -- with the stated aim of “fighting terrorism” and propping up the regime.