Syria Journalist Killed Amid Violence in Damascus

A Syrian journalist was killed Tuesday in a suburb of the capital Damascus, amid intense clashes and shelling between government troops and rebel fighters, the state official news agency and activists reported.

Batoul Mokhles al-Warar, a broadcaster at Noor al-Sham TV channel and Damascus radio station, was killed by mortar rounds fired by "terrorists," news agency SANA said. 

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the local journalist was killed in shelling on the government-held Dahiyat al-Assad neighborhood, which has been frequently targeted by rebel attacks.

The Observatory said government troops shelled the rebel-held Damascus suburbs of Douma and Daraya. There were reports of clashes and casualties on the outskirts of both suburbs.

Violence in Damascus suburbs where rebels have been entrenched for years has claimed the lives of thousands of civilians.

Overall violence in the country has surged since Russia, a top ally of embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad, began airstrikes around the country on Sept. 30. Moscow says it is targeting militant groups, but civilians and Western-backed rebel groups have also come under attack.

Russian news agencies quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov as saying on Tuesday that Moscow aimed to host talks between Syrian officials and opposition leaders next week. He said the Syrian government had agreed to participate, but it was unclear which opposition groups would attend.
abc news reports