Rockets hit Russian embassy during rally in Syrian capital

Damascus, October 13

Two rockets struck the Russian embassy in Damascus today sparking panic as several hundred people gathered to express their support for Moscow’s air war in Syria. Moscow considered the shelling of its embassy in Damascus as a terrorist act.

According to eyewitnesses, some 300 people had begun to gather for a demonstration thanking Russia for its recent intervention in Syria when the rockets crashed into the embassy in the Mazraa neighbourhood of the capital. They carried posters showing Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and waved the two countries' flags. Some held placards that read: “Thanks Russia” and “Syria and Russia are together to fight terrorism.”

An Associated Press reporter was outside the embassy when the first shell slammed into the compound in central Damascus and smoke billowed from inside. As people started running away, another shell hit the area.

There was widespread panic, but it was not immediately clear if anyone had been wounded or killed.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow considered the shelling of its embassy in Damascus as a terrorist act, RIA news agency reported on Tuesday.

“This is an obvious act of terrorism, probably aimed at intimidating supporters of the fight against terrorism,” Lavrov was quoted as saying ahead of talks with the United Nations’ special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, on Tuesday .

Lavrov said Russia was supporting De Mistura’s efforts to ensure a political settlement to the Syria crisis and was disappointed by US reluctance to coordinate the efforts of all sides involved in fighting terrorism in Syria, RIA reported. — Agencies

US, Russia jets ‘came’ within visual range 

Washington: US and Russian jets came within visual identification range over Syria, the US military said on Tuesday, adding the incident underscored a need for air safety protocols as the former Cold War foes carry out rival bombing campaigns. US Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Baghdad-based spokesman for the US-led military campaign, told a Pentagon briefing the jets came within miles of each other on Saturday -- the same day US and Russian militaries held talks on safety protocols. Warren said the air crews from both countries acted professionally. — Reuters