Battle Scenes From Damascus

 

Battle Scenes From Damascus

Bent double with their arms wrapped around their heads, these men - and the photographer who took this sequence of terrifying pictures - are caught at the heart of a blast so violent it seems extraordinary that they survived.With shrapnel still raining hard on their fragile bodies, they stumble half-blind through a battle-scarred neighbourhood area of Damascus after the building above them was hit by tank shells. The images of rebel fighters were captured by Reuters photographer Goran Tomasevic, who was embedded with a group of Syrian Free Army soldiers as they launched their assault on a government checkpoint controlled by forces loyal to the country's President Bashar al-Assad. They give a front line view of being in the blast zone of an exploding tank shell, capture the terrifying power of a rocket-propelled grenade and the horrifying moment a fighter is shot by a sniper. Rubble: One of the fighters cautiously looks around the corner of a building as fires burn in the streets beyond Shrapnel: Free Syrian Army fighters run for cover as a tank shell explodes on a wall during heavy fighting in the Ain Tarma neighbourhood of Damascus Cover: The fighters were attacking a Syrian army checkpoint when the tank responded with heavy fire War wounds: An injured Free Syrian Army fighter holds his head soon after the tank shell hit Writing on the Reuters blog, Mr Tomasevic said: 'One moment, I heard two incoming shots. I was already aiming my camera on these two Syrian rebels. I heard the scream and saw one of them get shot. 'He was still alive as I was shooting but dying as he was carried away. 'The rebel next to him was also shot and injured but he should recover after being hit in the stomach.'The rebel assault comprised two groups. One was sent to fire rocket propelled grenades from a further distance away from the checkpoint and the group the photographer was hunkered down with were sent to to engage the soldiers manning the checkpoint. He added: 'There were two rebels next to me and two rebels across the street. A couple of sniper shots were fired. They were clearly sniper shots, not AKs (assault rifles). The shocking moment a Free Syrian Army fighter (left) looks at his comrade as he gets shot by sniper fire during heavy fighting The photographer ducked back after the bullets hit as the rest of the strike force look on helpless The fighter drags his comrade out of the line of fire. His efforts were to no avail, the man later died Fading: The dying man's rifle is abandoned as his fellow fighters try to pull him to safety The fighting raged for hours as the two sides traded machine gun fire, tanks shells, grenades, rockets and mortar shells Fatal: The fighters call for help as they assist their fallen comrade Grief: A wounded Free Syrian Army fighter cries after hearing that his friend died in the mission 'After the rebel was killed they pulled back maybe 20-30 metres and I took pictures of the body being taken out. 'The hole where the rebels had to drag the body through was really small and it was difficult to drag him through. There was a lot of fire as the rebels dragged him away. 'A tank fired a couple of shells onto the top of the building and rubble fell down around us.' The heavy fighting went on for hours, with many rocket strikes and attacks on multiple sites. The rebels eventually pulled back and fired mortar shells. Fiery wrath: Photographer Goran Tomasevic captured the intensive fighting as the rebel group fought to overrun a government checkpoint in a Damascus neighborhood A fighter chances a glance at the Syrian Army position around the corner He added: 'From what I’ve seen the fighting is up and down. The lines between the Free Syrian Army and the government army are pretty clear. 'Since I’ve been here it’s literally been going house by house. The other day there was a rebel next to me who was struck by shrapnel. 'The rebels and the government forces are close enough to be throwing hand grenades at one another. You can hear them shouting at each other.' The Syrian civil war has raged for 22 months. Observers estimate it has cost more than 60,000 people their lives. Smoke billows behind two fighters as look back at the camera Lull: Rebels rest in the Haresta neighbourhood of Damascus Faith: The rebels pray in a lull in the fighting. Right, two warriors rest on each other in the absence of bedding

A Free Syrian Army fighter photographs inside a mosque damaged by shells fired by Syrian Army in the Haresta neighborhood of Damascus, on January 29, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) 2 Men stand in the Haresta neighborhood of Damascus, on January 29, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) # 3 Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters take position just before they were hit by Syrian Army sniper fire during heavy fighting in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) # 4 An FSA fighter looks at his comrade (right) as he is shot by sniper fire, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) # 5 The FSA fighter on the left is shot by sniper fire, as his comrade lies on him, wounded moments before, on January 30, 2013.(Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) # 6 FSA fighters lie on the ground after being shot by sniper fire during heavy fighting in the Ain Tarma neighborhood, on January 30, 2013.(Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) # 7 FSA fighters pull a wounded comrade to safety, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) # 8 A badly wounded FSA member drops his weapon as he is dragged by fellow fighters, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) # 9 FSA fighters pull a comrade who was just shot by sniper fire during heavy fighting, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) # 10 FSA fighters do what they can to help a badly-wounded comrade in the Ain Tarma neighborhood, on January 30, 2013. The fighter died of his wound soon after. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) # 11 FSA fighters walk to attack a Syrian Army checkpoint in Damascus, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) # 12 FSA fighters on their way to a Syrian Army checkpoint, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) # 13 An FSA fighter fires a rocket propelled grenade during heavy fighting in Ain Tarma, in Damascus, on January 30, 2013.(Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) #   15 FSA fighters run for cover as a tank shell explodes on a wall in Damascus, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) # 16 FSA fighters run from a cloud of debris after a tank shell exploded on a wall above them, in Ain Tarma, on January 30, 2013.(Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) # 17 An injured FSA fighter holds his head soon after a tank shell exploded on a wall in Damascus, on January 30, 2013.(Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) # 18 An FSA fighter runs for cover in front of a burning barricade, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) # 19 An FSA fighter shouts "Allahu Akhbar" (God is Great) during fighting in Ain Tarma, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) # 20 FSA fighters stand along a wall in the Ain Tarma neighborhood, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) # 21 A wounded FSA fighter cries after hearing that his friend died in a mission in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus, on January 30, 2013.(Reuters/Goran Tomasevic)