Damascus, April 3 (IANS): At least six children were killed Thursday in renewed mortar shelling on several areas of the Syrian capital Damascus.

Four mortar shells landed at the Dukhanieh neighbourhood, in southeast Damascus, killing six children and injuring five others, Xinhua reported citing SANA news agency.

Three other people were wounded by the shrapnel of a mortar shell that landed at the Dahiet Harasta roundabout in the countryside of Damascus.

Seven more people were wounded when mortar shells struck the Jamarek roundabout and the al-Jahez public park in central Damascus.

At least 12 people were killed Wednesday and more than 40 injured by mortar shelling.

The intensification of mortar shelling against government-controlled areas, which has become a daily routine in Syria, has coincided with intense battles currently under way between the government troops and armed militant groups in Damascus's eastern suburb of Jobar, a hotbed for insurgency against the administration of President Bashar al-Assad.

According to activists, over 150,000 people have been killed since the eruption of mass protests against Assad's administration in March 2011.