Story highlights Heavy airstrikes pound Syrian city of Aleppo for third day

Activist group cautions death toll of 45 will likely grow

(CNN) At least 45 people were killed Thursday and dozens injured as airstrikes and barrel bombs pounded eastern Aleppo and rebel-held parts of the countryside, the Aleppo Media Center activist group said.

The death toll was expected to rise and airstrikes and shelling continued through the night.

"Planes are more than birds, and bombs are more than rain," one resident said of the Syrian air force's renewed blitz.

The Syrian Civil Defense volunteer group -- also known as the White Helmets -- said that more than 40 airstrikes and barrel bombs struck besieged rebel-held neighborhoods.

White Helmets member Ismail Abdallah described barrel bombs being dropped from helicopters on neighborhoods regularly.

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