DAMASCUS
A Syrian opposition group called Jaysh al-Islam targeted the Syrian capital of Damascus with missile strikes on Thursday, according to rebel sources.
Zahran Alloush, military leader of the Islamic Front, which the Jaysh al-Islam group belongs to, claimed responsibility for the attacks on his personal twitter account.
The attacks resulted in the deaths of three civilians, the wounding of at least another 30 and damage to a number of houses and cars, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.
The attack targeted Syrian regime’s military headquarters including the intelligence agency and ministry of foreign affairs.
It came in response to the regime’s “horrific massacres” in the Ghouta area in eastern Damascus, according to Alloush.
He said in a tweet on Feb. 3 that Damascus is a military conflict area and called on civilians, diplomats and students to stay cautious and to avoid regime buildings and security points.
The opposition’s attack started on Thursday at 7:30 Syrian local time (1730GMT) using Katyusha rocket launchers.
In response, 19 people were killed when Assad regime airstrikes targeted eastern Ghouta. The death toll included two adults and two children in Arbeen village and 15 civilians in Douma village.
Syrian regime air forces have been targeting opposition controlled areas and killing hundreds of civilians over the past few months.
Syrian opposition groups, including the Islamic Front, agreed to unite under the name Al-Sham Front on Oct. 25, 2014.
Al-Sham is the Arabic word for the Levant, a region of the Middle East which encapsulates Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine.
Syria’s civil war has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and displaced almost half of the country's population so far.
