Beirut, March 31 (IANS): At least 26 people were killed in missile attacks and bombings in northern and southern Syria, Efe news agency reported citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) on Tuesday.

A total of 14 people, including two women and two children, died in ground-to-ground rocket attacks and military air raids in Idlib, the capital city of the eponymous northern province that has been under the control of Al Qaeda affiliate Nusra Front since Saturday, when its troops expelled pro-regime forces.

The London-based NGO expects the death toll to rise, as many of the wounded are in serious condition.

In Deraa, a city in southwestern Syria near the Jordanian border, 12 people were killed and 20 others were wounded after two vehicles exploded in the al-Jiza village.

Activists and residents of the area accused the government intelligence services of being behind the attacks, according to the SOHR.

More than 220,000 people, including civilians and fighters, have been killed in Syria since the outbreak of the conflict in March 2011, according to the UN.