Shelling on Syria Kurdish Town Kills 12 as 20 Troops Die in Aleppo Clashes

Syrian regime shelling killed 12 people Friday in a Kurdish town in Aleppo province, where 20 soldiers and seven rebels were killed in clashes at a military base, an NGO said.

"Twelve Kurdish citizens, including six children... were killed in government shelling of an area in the town of Tal-Aran," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, adding that at least 11 other people were wounded.

The town is east of Aleppo city, and near the town of Sfeireh, which is largely controlled by jihadist fighters and has been a key target for the regime in recent weeks.

The Observatory said another nine people had been killed in shelling on Tal-Aran and the surrounding area on Thursday, including five children, bringing the toll in 24 hours to 21 people.

Tal-Aran is considered strategic because of its location on the main road between Aleppo city and Sfeireh, which is near a military site believed to hold some of the regime's chemical arms.

Elsewhere in Aleppo province, the Observatory said at least 20 regime troops and seven rebel fighters were killed after opposition forces attacked an air defense military base southwest of Aleppo city.

In eastern Syria, meanwhile, rebels advanced in the city of Deir Ezzor after fierce clashes with regime troops overnight.

The Britain-based Observatory also reported regime air strikes and clashes in the city of Deir Ezzor, which lies in the eastern province of the same name, on Friday morning.

The strikes left people wounded and destroyed several houses, it said.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists, doctors and lawyers on the ground, said initial reports suggested rebels had taken an area near the Rashdiya district that had been under government control.

"Fighters from the al-Nusra Front executed 10 soldiers from the regime forces after they captured them following clashes in Rashdiya," it said, referring to a prominent jihadist group.