By Halit Suleyman

DAMASCUS 

Eighteen civilians, including women and children, were killed and the dozens of others wounded late Thursday in a missile attack by the Syrian regime in the eastern Ghouta district of Damascus, Syrian civil defense officials said.

The strike was in a district under the control of opposition forces and caused major damage to the area, according to the officials who spoke to Anadolu Agency on the condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media. They added that regime fighter jets were continuing to drop bombs in the region.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since 2011, when the regime of President Bashar al-Assad cracked down on pro-democracy protests with disproportionate ferocity.

*Anadolu Agency correspondent Emin Avundukluoglu contributed to this story from Ankara.