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Mortar shells have fallen over Abbasyeen neighborhood in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Saturday, causing property damages with no immediate information on casualties, witnesses told Xinhua, adding Iranian pilgrims were abducted on their way to Damascus . The sources of the mortars were not immediately known, but the area is close to focal point districts that are witnessing clashes between armed rebels and government forces. Meanwhile, the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV said that a bus transporting Iranian pilgrims have been hijacked by armed groups on the Damascus airport road on Saturday. Further information about the abduction is still forthcoming as kidnapping Shiite pilgrims in Syria has become common in recent days since the crisis has veered toward a sectarian rift. Damascus and Aleppo , Syria 's two largest cities, have been witnessing intense clashes lately in what appeared to be the showdown between the rivals of Syria's 17-month unrest.

Iranian pilgrims hijacked in Damascus