ANKARA

More than 29,000 children have been killed since the start of the civil war in Syria in 2011, said a report by a London-based rights watchdog.

In a report released on the occasion of World Children’s Day on Wednesday, the Syrian Network for Human Rights said it documented deaths of 22,753 children by forces of the Assad regime and allied Iran-backed terrorist groups.

At least 186 children were killed by regime's chemical attacks and 305 died due to malnutrition and medicine shortages in the areas besieged by the regime.

Russian forces came in second place with killing of 1,928 children, while 984 children were killed by Syrian opposition forces, 956 by Daesh terrorist group, 924 by the U.S.-led international coalition and 214 children were killed by the SDF -- another name used by the YPG/PKK terrorist group.

Meanwhile 5,034 children remain in detention including 3,618 held by the Assad regime and 722 held by YPG/PKK terrorist group.

At least 326 children are also being held by Daesh in areas of its control.

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

Hundreds of thousands of people have since been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN figures.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat