Assad air strikes kill 37 civilians in Syria: monitor

Syrian government air strikes killed at least 37 civilians, including seven children, in strongholds of the Islamic State (IS) group, a monitoring group said Friday in a new toll.

The raids struck Al-Bab and Qbasin Thursday in the northern province of Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists on the ground.

Previously the toll had stood at 21 dead.

"At least 37 civilians, including seven children, three teenagers and two women, were killed in the Syrian army air raids," said the Observatory, adding that dozens more people were seriously wounded.

The air force has of president Bashar al-Assad killed thousands of people since it was first deployed in the war in July 2012.

Activists accuse the government of killing more civilians than IS in the raids.

The UN and international rights groups have repeatedly called on the government to refrain from using its air force against inhabited areas.

A US-led military coalition is carrying out regular air strikes against IS.

On Thursday, about 60 IS militants were killed in fighting with Kurdish forces for control of territory in northern Syria, according to the Observatory.

Syria's civil war began in March 2011 as a peaceful protest movement inspired by the Arab Spring and demanding Assad's ouster, but morphed into a brutal war after pro-Assad forces unleashed a massive crackdown against dissent.

The war has resulted in the deaths of an estimated 200,000 people, and displaced roughly half of the country's population. 

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