Rebel shelling kills 5 in Syrian capital

BEIRUT – Syrian state TV says shelling from rebel-held areas has killed at least five civilians and wounded more than eight in the capital, Damascus.

State television, citing a police statement, says Monday's shelling struck the Bab Touma and al-Shaghour neighborhoods. It blamed the shelling on rebels in the eastern Ghouta suburbs.

Government forces have surrounded eastern Ghouta, the last rebel stronghold near the capital, and regularly target it with shelling and airstrikes. The UN says some 400,000 civilians are trapped in eastern Ghouta with little to no access to basic services or aid.