DHAKA: Two children were among at least 13 people killed in new airstrikes on a rebel-held district of Syria’s main northern city of Aleppo on Tuesday, activists said.

It was the third straight day of air raids on the eastern Shaar neighbourhood of the city, Syria`s commercial hub before a rebel offensive in July last year made it a key battleground in the conflict which erupted in March 2011, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

A woman was also among the dead, the Britain-based watchdog said, reports TDS.

The new raids came after air strikes on rebel-held areas of Aleppo on Sunday killed 76 people, among them 28 children. Strikes on Monday killed a further 10 civilians, among them four children.

The Syrian air force has been dropping barrels of explosives on rebel-held areas in its bombing campaign, which has been carried out by helicopter as well as fixed-wing aircraft, activists and the Observatory say.

A Syrian security official said the military prefers the TNT-packed barrels because they are cheaper than regular bombs, which need to be imported from Russia.

BDST: 1633 HRS, DEC 17, 2013
Edited by Robab Rosan, Current Affairs Editor