Damascus, March 31 (IANS): At least 14 people were killed on Tuesday when a booby-trapped car went off in the Syria's southern province of Daraa, a monitoring group reported.

Two children were among those killed in the blast, which occurred in the town of al-Jizeh in the countryside of Daraa, Xinhua news agency reported citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

It added that the death toll could rise due to the large number of critically wounded people.

Separately, the observatory said at least 32 people were killed, including women and children, by surface-to-surface missiles launched by the Syrian government troops against the northwestern city of Idlib, which was overran by Al Qaeda-linked militants earlier this week.

The Britian-based watchdog said many bodies were still buried under the rubble.

The activists' account, however, could not be independently verified.

The Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and affiliate groups have unleashed broad offensives in Idlib and Daraa in recent weeks, and since then, the Syrian government forces have ramped up shelling against their positions in these areas.