ALEPPO, Syria 

Fifteen people were killed and at least 25 injured on Wednesday by barrel-bomb attacks carried out by the Syrian regime in the al-Salihiya district of Aleppo, according to humanitarian and local sources.

The Syria Civil Defense (SCD) group said casualties included a number of women and children.

Several buildings and trucks in Al-Salihiya were also heavily damaged in Wednesday’s attacks, the SCD added.

According to its website, the SCD is a “politically impartial” group of Syria-based humanitarian workers devoted to minimizing the human and material damage caused by the conflict.

Barrel bombs are improvised explosives typically consisting of a barrel filled with explosive material and shrapnel. They are usually dropped on targets from helicopters.

According to the UN, more than 220,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in mid-2011 between the regime of Bashar al-Assad and armed opposition forces.