Air strikes by Syrian government forces killed at least 23 people, including six children, and wounded 50 on Wednesday in the northern provinces of Aleppo and Idlib, a monitor said.

In the south of Aleppo city, a small girl was among four civilians killed in the rebel-held neighborhoods of Ferdus, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Another seven civilians died in Deir Hafer and Bab, two areas in the east and north of Aleppo under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant group, said the Observatory.

Explosives-filled barrels and missiles were used in the wave of bombing, which also wounded 50 people.

Grief-stricken Syrians sit on the pavement near a building that was targeted in a reported barrel bomb attack by Syrian government forces on the central al-Fardous rebel held neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, on April 29, 2015, which left a number of people dead, according to locals. AFP

In Idlib, air strikes killed 12 people, five of them children, said the Britain-based monitor which relies on a network of sources on the ground for its reports.

A newly formed rebel alliance calling itself the Army of Conquest has seized key positions in Idlib province in recent weeks, including the provincial capital of the same name, the town of Jisr al-Shughur and a military headquarters.

In fighting between rival factions within the anti-regime camp, the Observatory and opposition sources said, 36 people have been killed since Monday on the edge of the Israeli-occupied sector of the Golan Heights.

Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said 31 of the deaths came in fighting in Qahtaniya pitting Jaish al-Jihad, which has pledged allegiance to ISIS, against Islamists backed by the al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front and other rebel forces.

Al-Nusra and its allies have taken several positions from Jaish al-Jihad, the Observatory said.

In nearby Saham Jolan, five Al-Nusra fighters including a commander were killed in clashes with Al-Yarmuk Martyrs Brigade, another group close to IS, opposition sources said.

Two Al-Yarmuk members were killed.

Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:44 - GMT 06:44