Regime strikes kill 27 civilians in central Syria

At least 27 civilians were killed Wednesday and dozens more wounded in fierce regime bombardment of several residential areas in central Syria, a monitoring group said.

"Regime warplanes conducted raids on Rastan, Talbisseh, and Zaafarani in Homs province," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

He said five people had been killed in Zaafarani, seven in Rastan, and 15 in Talbisseh.

"The number of dead may rise because there are dozens of wounded, some of whom are in critical condition, and others who are still under the rubble," the Observatory reported.

The three locations, which lie next to each other in Syria's central Homs province, are controlled by various rebel, Islamist and extremist groups including al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate al-Nusra Front.

Other parts of Homs province are controlled by the Islamic State [IS] group, while forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad still hold most of the provincial capital.

On Wednesday, fierce clashes between regime forces and IS extremists raged in the Shaer gas field, the largest in Homs province.

IS has tried for months to seize the gas field, one of the last still in regime hands.