Bombing raids Sunday in the suburbs of Damascus killed at least 18 people — with that number expected to rise as scores more are treated for injuries, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The London-based monitoring group said the bombings were dropped by warplanes from the embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. There was no immediate comment Sunday from al-Assad’s government.
More than 100 people were injured, including women and children, the organization said. It added that the bombings continued into areas on the outskirts of the neighboring city of Douma.
Also Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights released its latest count of how many people have died during the past four years as the country’s civil war has raged on.
The group said there have been 215,518 deaths since the uprising started in March of 2011, including more than 10,800 children.
A total of 102,831 civilians have died in the war, along with 36,722 rebel fighters and 46,138 government soldiers, the organization said, citing a new report.
The report also said more than 1.5 million Syrians have been seriously wounded in the war, many suffering permanent disabilities. And more than half of all Syrians have been displaced from their homes and communities over the past four years, the group said.