Heavy Fighting Breaks Out in Syrian Capital Damascus

March 19, 2012 from Euronews

In the Syrian capital Damascus, there have been reports of heavy fighting between Free Syria Army rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar al Assad. The fierce gun battles are said to have taken place in the western district of al-Mezze. The area is one of the most heavily guarded in the capital and is home to several security installations. It follows a weekend of deadly violence elsewhere in the capital. At least 27 people are said to have been killed and around 140 others hurt in suicide bomb attacks on intelligence and security buildings near al-Tahrir Square. Residential buildings within 1,000 meters of the blast suffered extensive damage. On Sunday, there was an explosion too in Syria's second city of Aleppo. A car bomb ripped through a residential area killing two people and wounding 30 others.

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Damascus

Damascus, commonly known in Syria as ash-Sham and nicknamed as the City of Jasmine, is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo. It borders Quneitra, Daraa and As-Suwayda to the south, Jordan to the east, Homs to the north, and Lebanon to the west. It is a... Explore this topic

Syria

Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, i... Explore this topic

Mezzeh

Mezzeh is a municipality and a relatively new neighborhood of Damascus, Syria. It lies to the southwest of central Damascus, along the Mezzeh highway. It started gaining importance when the French constructed the Mezzeh airbase there, which was the main airport in Damascus unt... Explore this topic

Free Syrian Army

The Free Syrian Army is an armed opposition structure operating in Syria during the Syrian civil war. Composed of defected Syrian Armed Forces personnel and volunteers, its formation was announced on 29 July 2011 in a video released on the internet by a uniformed group of dese... Explore this topic

Bashar al-Assad

Bashar Hafez al-Assad is the President of Syria and Regional Secretary of the Syrian-led branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. He has served as President since 2000, when he succeeded his father, Hafez al-Assad, who had ruled Syria for 30 years prior to his death. Al-Assa... Explore this topic

Suicide attack

A suicide attack is an attack upon a target, in which an attacker intends to kill others and/or cause great damage, knowing that he or she will either certainly or most likely die in the process. Between 1981 and 2006, 1200 suicide attacks occurred around the world, constituti... Explore this topic

Syrian army

The Syrian Army, officially the Syrian Arab Army, is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It is the dominant military service of the four uniformed services, controlling the senior most posts in the armed forces, and has the greatest manpower, approximately 80 per... Explore this topic

Syrian Civil War

The Syrian civil war is an ongoing armed conflict in Syria between forces loyal to the Syrian Ba'ath Party government and those seeking to oust it. The conflict began on 15 March 2011, with popular demonstrations that grew nationwide by April 2011. These demonstrations were pa... Explore this topic

Car bomb

A car bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device, is an improvised explosive device placed inside a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupa... Explore this topic

Aleppo

Aleppo, located in northwestern Syria 310 kilometres from Damascus, is the largest city in Syria and serves as the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,132,100, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant.... Explore this topic

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