The Syrian army foiled an attack by the armed rebels on the eastern rim of the capital Damascus on Friday, killing 14 of them, a military source told Xinhua.

Residents in Damascus woke up on Friday morning to the sounds of the Syrian artillery pounding the rebels, who unleashed an attack from the rebel-held Jobar neighborhood in eastern countryside of Damascus toward government-controlled areas in eastern Damascus.

According to the source, the rebels started their attack by sneaking into a tunnel toward the districts of Zablatani, and the adjacent al-Hal Souk.

The violent offensive was foiled by the Syrian army, whose soldiers engaged in battles against the rebels, while the artillery pounded the rebels' positions, rendering their offensive flat.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the rebels couldn't make any progress.

Meanwhile, relative calm returned to eastern Damascus districts after the hours-long intensive confrontation amid sporadic artillery shelling on the rebels, and mortar shelling from the rebels on government-controlled areas in eastern Damascus.

Jobar is deemed as one of the most important strongholds for the rebels in the eastern countryside of Damascus.

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