By Mohammad Misto

DAMASCUS

At least seven civilians were killed and another 13 wounded in shelling Tuesday by the Assad regime on cities and towns in eastern Ghouta, Damascus.

The attacks targeted residential neighborhoods in the cities of Doma, Kafr Batna, and Zamalka, in addition to the town of Beit Sawa, resulting in the death of seven civilians, including two children, pro-opposition civil defense sources told Anadolu Agency.

Speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking with the media, the sources added that the attacks caused large destruction in the targeted areas, as the regime warplanes fired around 20 rockets.

Cities and towns in eastern Ghouta have been shelled repeatedly by Syrian regime forces, killing and wounding thousands of civilians, amid dire humanitarian conditions due to the three-year-plus siege of the area.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests – which erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings – with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, more than a quarter-million people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced across the war-battered country, according to the UN.

The Syrian Center for Policy Research, however, put the death toll from the six-year conflict at more than 470,000 people.