Syria: Regime attacks kill 20 in Eastern Ghouta

DAMASCUS/ANKARA (AA) – At least 20 civilians were killed Sunday in Syrian regime attacks in Eastern Ghouta suburb of Damascus.

The attacks targeted the opposition-held residential neighborhoods of Douma, Misraba, Ein Tarma, Medeira and Harasta, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter in the area.

Thirteen civilians, including three children, were killed in Misraba, medical sources said, citing anonymity over security concerns.

Five people, including a child, were also killed in Medeira and two others in Douma, the sources said.

The death toll is feared to rise as there are many people were injured in the attacks.

Since Nov. 14, Eastern Ghouta has been under intensive strikes by regime forces that left more than 100 people dead and hundreds injured.

The Syrian regime has been stepping up its attacks on Eastern Ghouta, even though the district falls within a network of de-escalation zones -- endorsed by Turkey, Russia and Iran -- in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

Syria has fallen into a devastating civil war in 2011 when the Assad al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the fighting and more than 10 million displaced, according to claims by the UN.