Syrian regime dropped 1,000 barrel bombs in Nov: NGO

ANKARA

The regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last month dropped a total of 1,083 barrel bombs that killed 51 civilians, including 16 children, according to a report issued by the Syrian Network for Human Rights.

The London-based network also said the Assad regime had dropped 3,173 barrel bombs -- mostly targeting residential areas and infrastructure -- since Russian military intervention in Syrian began on Sept. 30.

The NGO added that the regime had repeatedly been urged to stop using barrel bombs, but that, according to recent reports, such attacks remained ongoing.

Barrel bombs are improvised containers packed with shrapnel and explosive material. Usually dropped from army helicopters, these low-cost munitions are believed to have killed thousands of people in Syria since the conflict began in early 2011.

At least 250,000 people have been killed since the Syria conflict began in 2011, according to UN figures.