Russian Embassy In Damascus Hit By Mortars

The Russian embassy in Damascus came under shelling by mortars Monday, it was revealed Tuesday. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the shelling came from areas controlled by the al-Nusra Front and Faylaq al-Rahman militants.

In a statement cited by Russian news agency Sputnik, the ministry said: “The Russian diplomatic mission came under mortar shelling on October 3. One of the mines exploded on the embassy area near its residential department. Fortunately, no one was wounded. The diplomatic mission sustained material damage. Another two mines went off next to the embassy.”

The ministry also called for a coordinated approach to counterterrorism.

On Monday, the United States and Russia ended their fragile cooperation agreement on Syria after the U.S. said Russia failed to live up to its commitments, which were part of the deal between the two countries.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said of Monday’s shelling: “We view this shelling of the Russian embassy as a consequence of actions of those who, like the US and its allies, provoke the violent conflict in Syria, flirting with militants and extremists of different sorts.”

Since early in the Syrian conflict, Russia has urged the U.S. and its allies to not make a distinction between “good terrorists” and “bad terrorists.” The Syrian regime labels all rebels as terrorists, while the U.S. separates the rebels — who want to overthrow the government of President Bashar Assad — from the groups it identifies as terrorist organizations, such as the al-Nusra Front, which was earlier a part of al-Qaeda.