UPDATE - Regime strikes in Syria's E. Ghouta kill 56 civilians

UPDATES DEATH TOLL, CHANGES LEDE, HEADLINE

By Mohamad Misto and Esref Musa

EASTERN GHOUTA, Syria (AA) - The death toll in Thursday’s regime airstrikes in Syria's Eastern Ghouta district has risen to 56, local sources told Anadolu Agency.

Airstrikes reportedly targeted residential parts of the besieged Damascus suburb, including Duma, Aftris and Hammuria.

More than 302 people have been killed in three days of attacks in Eastern Ghouta by the regime forces.

Over the course of the last three days, regime artillery barrages in Eastern Ghouta have destroyed 22 health centers, an orphanage and a mosque.

Home to some 400,000 civilian residents, Eastern Ghouta has remained under a crippling regime siege for the last five years, bringing the district to the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe.

Syria has been locked in a devastating conflict since early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.