Syria regime raids kill 31 civilians near Damascus

 

At least 31 civilians were killed in Syrian government air strikes on Eastern Ghouta near Damascus on Wednesday, as a barrage of deadly rebel rocket fire hit the capital.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 120 people were injured in the raids, several of them seriously, and that the death toll was likely to rise.

The air raids hit the towns of Douma, Saqba, Kafr Batna and Hammouriyeh in Eastern Ghouta, a rebel stronghold region outside the capital.

The strikes came as rebels fired dozens of rockets into Damascus, killing at least four people, according to Syria’s interior ministry.

The ministry, quoted by state television, said “four people were killed and 58 others were wounded, in addition to material damage”, in residential neighbourhoods of Damascus.

The Observatory said rebels fired a barrage of at least 50 rockets and put the toll at five dead — four civilians and a soldier — with 59 people hurt.

Rebels often fire into the Syrian capital from rear bases on the outskirts of Damascus, including at times barrages of hundreds of missiles. (AFP)