Two mortars exploded next to a soccer stadium in central Damascus Wednesday, killing one player and injuring several, Syria’s state-run news agency said.

According to SANA news agency, the mortars landed  in a complex housing the Tishrin Stadium and a hotel next to it in the central Baramkeh district.

Some players were practicing in the stadium at the time.    It said the player killed was from the Homs-based al-Wathbah club. He was wounded inside the hotel as some players were getting ready to go out and join the practice and died later at the hospital.

The Britain-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported one player was killed.

Players from al-Wathbah team who witnessed the attack identified the dead teammate as 19-year-old Youssef Suleiman, the team’s striker. They said he was the father of a 6-month-old baby. They said the mortars landed in front of Tishrin hotel next to the stadium where players normally stayed, and shattered some of the building’s windows.

By UP