LEVANT REPORT – On Sunday morning (10/6), a barrage of mortar shells were fired from rebel positions in the outskirts of Damascus and rained down on Qassaa (locally referred to as “Assaa”) – the largest Christian neighborhood of Damascus.

Syrian Arab News Agency is reporting at least 8 killed and over 24 injured in the attack. Most of these casualties include Christians, as church services were being held in the area at the very moment of the strikes.

Holy Cross Church, the largest church in the Syrian capital, which serves over 10,000 Orthodox Christians, received a direct hit (see photo above). Our sources in Damascus confirm that the church was hit as a baptismal service was in progress.

It is unclear which rebel group carried out the attack, but the Christian districts of Damascus have received intermittent mortar and sniper fire from rebel strongholds on the city’s outskirts for the past year.

The governments of the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are currently supplying the bulk of the Syrian rebels with weapons, money, and communications equipment.

For further coverage of the attack on Qassaa:

http://news.yahoo.com/damascus-mortar-attack-kills-eight-state-media-143004870.html

http://www.albawaba.com/news/syria-damascus-525215

AFP