The Latest: Shelling hits downtown of Syrian capital
BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on Syria's conflict (all times local):
6:30 p.m.
Syrian state TV is reporting that shells fired by insurgents have struck downtown Damascus near the famous Umayyad Mosque, wounding several people.
The TV gave no further details. Such attacks have taken place a number of times in recent days as government forces mount an offensive against rebel-held suburbs of the capital.
The Umayyad mosque is close to the famous Hamidiyeh market in Damascus, which is is usually crowded with people.
3:00 p.m.
Syrian opposition activists say airstrikes on rebel-held parts of the besieged city of Aleppo have killed at least eight people.
The activist-operated Aleppo Today TV station and Qasioun news agency say bunker-busting bombs were used in an attack on Tuesday on the Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood in eastern Aleppo.
Other activists groups and a member of the Aleppo local council, Zakaria Amino, say the death toll is likely to rise because the bombs fell in a number of neighborhoods. Amino says rescue workers are still searching for people under the rubble.
The opposition-held part of Aleppo has been under an intensive aerial campaign since last month after the collapse of a cease-fire that barely lasted a week. Syrian pro-government forces are also pressing a ground offensive into the rebel-held districts.
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The Associated Press
This Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016 handout frame grab from video provided by Doctors Without Borders, shows a house on fire in Aleppo, Syria. The international charity, Doctors Without Borders is pleading for access to treat the wounded in the rebel-held part of Syria's Aleppo as government forces press ahead with an offensive that has killed hundreds of people in recent weeks. The international charity, also known by its French acronym MSF, says medical workers in Aleppo are exhausted and that the overstretched facilities face an impending fuel shortage. (Doctors Without Borders via AP)
