Mortar shells hit Damascus University, kill 15 students

At least 15 students have been killed in Syria after foreign-sponsored militants targeted the Damascus University with mortar shells, Press TV reports.

The projectiles landed inside the canteen of the university’s Faculty of Architecture on Thursday. More than 20 other students sustained injuries in the attack.

Meanwhile, two civilians were killed and another injured when gunmen opened fire on a passenger minibus with machine guns near Jdeidet Artouz – a suburb southwest of Damascus.

Local officials said the attack took place on the al-Arbaeen Highway opposite police housing compounds.

A medical source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the bodies of a baby girl and a young man had arrived at the al-Muwasat Hospital in the district, adding that an injured person is receiving treatment at the hospital.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011. Many people, including large numbers of army and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

The Syrian government says the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants fighting in the country are foreign nationals.