Gunmen kill five members of a pro-Assad family in Syrian capital, Damascus

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Unknown gunmen have killed five members of a family supporting the government of Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian capital, Damascus.The incident took place on Saturday after gunmen stormed a home in northern Damascus, AFP reported on Sunday.According to the reports, five members of the family, including a man, his wife and their three daughters, were killed in the district of Rukn al-Din.The family’s sixth member, an eight-year-old boy, survived the attack because he was hiding in another room.Some reports say the family was “shot” dead, while others say they were “slaughtered.”Reports also say that a car bomb explosion rocked a checkpoint near the capital’s south the Sinaa and Bustan al-Dour neighborhoods. A civilian was reportedly wounded in the incident.The Syrian army has been fighting foreign-backed militants since 2011.Last month, US congressional panels agreed to the White House decision to supply arms to the foreign-sponsored Takfiri groups operating in Syria despite deep skepticism in the Congress over the plan.According to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, more than 100,000 people have been killed and a total of 7.8 million of others displaced since the outbreak of the violence. /129