One person has been killed and three injured by shells that landed near the Russian embassy in Damascus, an RT Arabic correspondent reports.
All of the victims are Syrians, RT Arabic's Abutaleb Albuhaya reports, adding that the fatality was an embassy security guard.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has confirmed that a shell exploded near the diplomatic mission.
"A mortar shell launched from an area controlled by illegal armed groups exploded 20 meters from the main entrance to the Russian Embassy complex," Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich said in a statement. "As a result of the shelling, one Syrian serviceman was killed and one wounded. No embassy staff were injured."
The Foreign Ministry condemned "this new terrorist attack."
Syrian news agency SANA, citing a police report, said that two shells hit the al-Mazra'a district of Damascus, where the Russian embassy is situated. It reports one person was killed and three wounded, but says all of them are civilians.