Damascus, Mar 11 (IANS): A child was killed and nine injured Sunday when a bomb shell hit a mini school bus in a restive suburb of Syria's capital city of Damascus, Xinhua reported.
The bus was struck in the suburb of Harasta. Earlier in the day, multiple mortar shells landed at Souk al- Hal in al-Zablatani area in Damascus, wounding five people and causing material damages in the area.
Mortar attacks have become increasingly common in Damascus, as the intensity of clashes is on the rise between the government troops and the armed rebels.
Violence has intensified in Syria recently in what some observers described as the escalation before pacification that is expected after the international community declared support to the political solution to Syria's long-standing conflict.
A recent UN tally placed the overall toll of Syria's 23- month conflict at more than 70,000 people.