Scores of Syrian civilians killed by Assad raids: reports

Scores of Syrian civilians were killed in Aleppo and other areas by attacks carried out by forces loyal to president Bashar al-Assad.

At least 23 civilians were killed, and scores of other non-combatants were injured in Aleppo in six separate government airstrikes, the Syrian Revolution General Commission, an opposition group, said.

Women and children were reportedly among the victims, and several buildings were damaged, during the government offensive on the city of al- Bab and town of Qbasin in Aleppo, which are currently under the control of Islamic State (IS) militant group.

The total number of those killed and injured in Aleppo - some of whom seriously wounded - was over 100, according to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights.

Separately, fierce clashes were reported between al-Nusra Front, backed by other Islamic battalions, and pro-Assad forces - including Shiite militants from Lebanon's Hezbollah, Iran and Afghanistan –  in the vicinity of Handarat village and outskirts of al-Mallah area, north of Aleppo.

In Rif Dimashq Province, 11 civilians, including a woman and her 5 children, were killed by sniper shots from pro-Assad forces, the Observatory reported.

Elsewhere in Syria, 23 civilians, including five women and six children, were killed by government aerial attacks on al-Raqqa, while six people, including four children, died during air raids on areas on the city of Doma.

Meanwhile, 30 IS militants were killed during clashes with members of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in the village of Qassiab in Hasakeh province, according to the Observatory.

The YPG regained control of the village, two days after it was seized by IS, said the Britain-based group, which has a wide network of activists on the ground in Syria.

The Kurds also lost three fighters in the clashes, it added.

Syria's conflict, which evolved from mass pro-democracy demonstrations against -Assad's rule to a civil war that has left more than 200,000 dead, has forced more than half the population to flee their homes.

The majority of fatalities are reportedly of civilians, primarily killed by pro-Assad forces, although other groups are also implicated.