People celebrating Christmas in Damascus, Syria faced a terrifying ordeal when three mortar shells exploded close to a French hospital on Sunday.

An unnamed police source shared the news with the Syrian Arab News Agency, saying the terrorists fired the mortars in the Christian district of al-Qassa'a in Damascus. The attack damaged both private and public establishments. Details regarding the number of casualties were not mentioned in the report.

The same publication earlier reported that militants attacked the Barada water pipeline in Kafr al-Zayt in Damascus just before Christmas. Damascus Countryside Water Establishment Director Hussam Hreidin said a similar attack took place less than a month ago, adding that they already restored the pipeline service on Friday.

However, pro-government media gave a contrasting report. According to them, the government was forced to cut the water supplies to Damascus for a few days because rebels had polluted the source with diesel. They usually get water from the al-Fija spring, which is located in a rebel-held area. This time around, the government used its water reserves.

Syria has been suffering from a state of civil war since 2011. Its government is constantly fighting opposition and terrorist groups such as the Islamic State, which is known in the region as Daesh, and Jabhat Fatah al Sham.

The government ran by President Bashar al-Assad scored a major victory earlier this month after Syrian government forces took back eastern Aleppo from rebels. Assad said defeating the rebels in Aleppo won't solve Syria's conflict, but it can be considered a "huge step" towards ending the country's devastating five-year civil war.

"It's true that Aleppo will be a win for us, but let's be realistic: It won't mean the end of the war in Syria," Assad told Al Jazeera of the victory. "But it will be a huge step towards this end."