On Tuesday, as Syrian pro-government demonstrators were holding a rally celebrating Russia's military support in front of the Russian Embassy in Damascus, the capital, at least two shells landed inside the embassy compound, The Associated Press reports. It's unclear if there were any casualties, AP said, attributing the attack to insurgent groups in the Damascus suburbs.
Russia's intervention in the multisided civil war has prompted at least some of the disparate rebel factions to band together, The Wall Street Journal notes. Similar alliances have formed between more moderate U.S.-backed groups and the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, among other factions, pretty regularly over the past four and a half years, but rebel groups say that having a common Russian enemy might make these alliances more enduring. As the Reuters video below shows, the Russian-backed Syrian military has claimed several victories over the past few days, at least briefly retaking towns captured by insurgents over the past year. Peter Weber
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