Fighting continues in Syria's Damascus, Aleppo

DAMASCUS, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Clashes continued Saturday in Syria's capital Damascus between armed insurgents and government troops in tandem with other military showdown in northern Aleppo province, witnesses said.

Clashes have taken place in Ruken Eddien, Muhajreen and Salihieh neighborhoods of Damascus, witnesses said, as media reports claimed that many of the rebel fighters were killed in Ruken Eddien area.

The state-run SANA news agency said the army has "cleansed" the Yalda suburb of Damascus from armed groups.

Earlier in the day, SANA said the army has uncovered a mass grave near Yalda, in which 20 bodies of civilians and army personnel have been dug up.

In Aleppo, meanwhile, clashes continued Saturday amid reports that the Syrian army has consolidated it troops after recent reinforcement.

In the meantime, a Syrian television presenter, Mohammed Al Saeed, who was kidnapped from his Damascus home in mid-July, has been "executed," according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

A statement of the al-Qaida-inspired Nusra group was cited as claiming responsibility for the kidnapping and killing of Al Saeed. Enditem