Syria: Mortar Round Lands in Russian Embassy Syria's state agency says a mortar round has landed in the Russian Embassy compound in Damascus, but has not caused any casualties. Quoting an "unidentified source" at the embassy, SANA says "business is usual" at the diplomatic mission following Sunday's mid-afternoon attack. An activist group, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, has confirmed that the round exploded inside the embassy, and said that there was no immediate report of casualties. The embassy is situated in the upscale Mazraa district, which also houses several Syrian security institutions, a soccer stadium and nightclubs. The Observatory said the Russian Embassy was the target of several previous failed rocket attacks by rebels fighting to unseat Syrian President Bashar Assad.