A mortar shell hit the French school in the Syrian capital Damascus on Sunday, while classes were in session, but caused no injuries, a school official told AFP. "No one was hurt but the windows shattered and the walls cracked," the official said.

School nurse Aline Farah told AFP students were in class when the mortar hit. "It was a miracle that no one was hurt, neither students nor teachers nor employees," she added.

The Charles de Gaulle school in the central district of Mazzeh is the only foreign school still open in the Syrian capital. It has some 220 students, down from a pre-war population of 900.