Mazzeh: Damascus clashes erupt overnight (VIDEO)
Syrians hold up the national flag as they line the street as the coffins of some 27 people who were killed in two bomb blasts the previous day leave the Othman mosque following their funeral service in Damascus on March 18, 2012.
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Heavy clashes erupted Monday in the wealthy Damascus district of Mazzeh, which is home to embassies and Syrian regime officials, The New York Times reported. The fighting was described by activists and residents as "the most intense" that area has seen during the year-long uprising.
Different groups gave different accounts of the dead; activists reported 18 government forces killed, but the Syrian government said two "terrorists" and one soldier died, Reuters reported. A state news agency described the clashes as a "raid on a 'hideout of an armed terrorist group' in the wealthy district," the Times wrote.
Residents reported that explosions, automatic weapons, and helicopters were heard overnight. Another witness said he watched a three-hour gunfire between two buildings before the government turned off the electricity and raided one.
The Associated Press reported that Syria's government says "terrorists" are behind the attacks and bombings that struck over the weekend, but activists say the government is behind the violence in order to "discredit the uprising."
The newswire said fighting deep inside heavily protected areas of Damascus "shows that rebels can still strike in the heart of the capital despite successful government offensive in the past weeks."
Below is a video reportedly showing damage from the Mazzeh clashes.
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