Damascus, April 5 (IANS): Residents of a central Syrian town confronted radical militant groups, killing and wounding over 50 of them Saturday, media reported.

Residents of the town of Taibet al-Emam in the countryside of the central province of Hama confronted rebels from the Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front who were committing acts of kidnapping and burglary, killing and wounding 50 of them, Xinhua reported citing SANA news agency.

In another incident, rebels fired mortar shells at the town of Muhardeh also in Hama, injuring many people and causing huge property losses.

The incidents in Hama came as part of the broader cycle of violence in Syria.

Rebel mortar shelling continued Saturday, with shells slamming into several districts of the capital Damascus, namely Fahameh, Adawi, Tabbaleh, Jaramana, Malki and the Umayyad Square in central Damascus, where the headquarters of the Syrian state TV, the military command and the opera house are located.

The Syrian military said its troops Saturday thwarted the rebels' attacks on several military posts in the southern province of Qunaitera, killing and injuring an undisclosed number of the attackers.

The military also killed many rebels when troops foiled another attack against military posts in the coastal town of Kasab, where intense fighting is currently going on.