Syrian football player killed in mortar attack
21 Feb 2013 8:00 AM IST
A Syrian football player has been killed in a mortar attack near a stadium in central Damascus and several others injured.
The attack was the second in as many days in the capital. In the first bombs exploded near one of president Bashar Assad’s palaces.
But it was the first confirmed strike close to a presidential palace and another sign that the civil war is moving closer to the heart of Assad’s seat of power and into areas of the capital once considered safe.
The official SANA news agency said the mortars landed in an area housing the Tishrin Stadium and a hotel next to it in the central Baramkeh district. Some players were practising in the stadium at the time.
The player killed, 19-year-old Youssef Suleiman, was a striker with the Homs-based al-Wathbah club. He was wounded inside the hotel as some players were getting ready to go out and join the practice and died later at hospital. The attack came a few hours before the team was to play against the Hama-based al-Mawaair club as part of the domestic league.
The attack was the second in as many days in the capital. In the first bombs exploded near one of president Bashar Assad’s palaces.
But it was the first confirmed strike close to a presidential palace and another sign that the civil war is moving closer to the heart of Assad’s seat of power and into areas of the capital once considered safe.
The official SANA news agency said the mortars landed in an area housing the Tishrin Stadium and a hotel next to it in the central Baramkeh district. Some players were practising in the stadium at the time.
The player killed, 19-year-old Youssef Suleiman, was a striker with the Homs-based al-Wathbah club. He was wounded inside the hotel as some players were getting ready to go out and join the practice and died later at hospital. The attack came a few hours before the team was to play against the Hama-based al-Mawaair club as part of the domestic league.
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