Mortar hits Assad’s election rally, killing scores

In this photo taken on Sunday, April 20, 2014 and released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad, center, speaks with Syrian citizens during his visit to Ain al-Tineh village, near Damascus, Syria. AP

BEIRUT, Lebanon— Syrian state media and opposition activists say a mortar shell has hit an election rally for President Bashar Assad, killing a number of people.

Assad was not at the rally, which the state-run SANA news agency said happened Thursday night in the southern city of Daraa.

SANA said a number of people were killed.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported Thursday’s attack. It said Friday that the mortar shell killed 21 people, including 11 civilians. It said the shell wounded more than 30 people.

The Observatory relies on reports from a network of activists on the ground.

Assad is widely expected to win a third, seven-year mandate at the June 3 presidential election.

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