Aleppo barrel bombs kill 25, injure dozens

A series of large barrel bomb laden with explosives was dropped from a helicopter on a crowded market in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo.

At least 25 people, four of whom include children, have been killed with the death toll likely to rise as dozens more were injured in the attack, the Syrian Observatory for human Rights said.

"The explosive filled cylinders or oil barrels, often dropped indiscriminately from helicopters, killed more than 25 people and also destroyed part of the hospital," the Observatory said.

One road hit by the blast was covered with debris from nearly buildings and lined with bodies.

The Human Rights group reported widespread panic and chaos as young men shouted for cars to help transport the wounded. A video posted by a local activist group showed residents pulling mangled corpses out of scorched and twisted car frames on Saturday.

Hundreds of people have been killed by air raids around the Syrian city in recent weeks, including women and children, Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

President Bashar al-Assad's forces have been regaining territory south-east of Aleppo in recent weeks and have made gains in suburbs around the capital, Damascus, as well.

The move is likely an attempt to strengthen Assad's position against the opposition ahead of planned peace negotiations in Geneva next month.

An army ambush in the Qalamoun mountains north of the capital killed at least 60 people on Friday. The Observatory said the dead were rebels. But the Syrian National Coalition, an umbrella group representing the opposition abroad, said the dead were civilians.

More than 100,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which began as peaceful protests against four decades of Assad family rule