50 rebels killed by locals in Syria's central town

Locals of a Syrian central town confronted radical militant groups, killing and wounding over 50 rebels on Saturday, according to the official SANA news agency. The locals of the town of Taibet al-Emam in the countryside of the central province of Hama confronted rebels from the al-Qaida- linked Nusra Front, who were committing acts of kidnapping and burglary, killing and wounding 50 of them, said SANA, spelling no further details. Meanwhile, SANA said that rebels fired mortar shells at the town of Muhardeh also in Hama, injuring many people and causing huge property losses. The incidents in Hama came as part of broader violence that has continued in Syria on Saturday. Rebels' mortar shelling continued on Saturday, slamming into several districts of the capital Damascus, namely Fahameh, Adawi, Tabbaleh, Jaramana, Malki and the Umayyad Square in central Damascus, where the headquarters of the Syrian state TV, the military command and the opera house are located. The Syria military said its troops on Saturday thwarted the rebels' attack on several military posts in the southern province of Qunaitera, killing and injuring undisclosed number of the assailants. The military also killed many rebels when the troops foiled another attack against military posts in the coastal town of Kasab, where intense battles are currently ongoing between the Syrian troops and the armed militant groups.