{"id":303034,"date":"2017-03-19T17:32:22","date_gmt":"2017-03-19T17:32:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=303034"},"modified":"2017-03-19T17:32:22","modified_gmt":"2017-03-19T17:32:22","slug":"syria-war-damascus-sees-fierce-clashes-after-rebel-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/03\/syria-war-damascus-sees-fierce-clashes-after-rebel-attack\/","title":{"rendered":"Syria war: Damascus sees fierce clashes after rebel attack"},"content":{"rendered":"
Syrian security forces are engaged in fierce clashes with rebels on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus, residents say.<\/p>\n
Artillery shells and rockets landed inside the heart of the city as part of a surprise rebel attack, they say.<\/p>\n
The insurgents detonated two suicide car bombs in Jobar district before trying to storm government defence lines, observers said.<\/p>\n
The military responded to the attack with air strikes.<\/p>\n
Syrian state media says secret tunnels were also used to launch the assault in Jobar.<\/p>\n
Damascus only has a few opposition held areas, and Jobar is the closest to the city centre. Control of the war-damaged area – which is split between rebels and jihadists on one side and government forces on the other – has been fought over for more than two years.<\/p>\n