Beirut, Dec 19 (IANS/EFE): Syria's armed forces have conducted a total of 2,973 bombings over the past 60 days, killing at least 735 civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) monitoring group reported Friday.

A total of 1,611 attacks were carried out by fixed-wing aircraft, while 1,362 were conducted by helicopters dropping barrel bombs, since Oct 20.

The provinces most targeted by the bombings were Deir al Zur, Aleppo, Idleb, Al-Hasakah and Raqaa in the north; Deraa and Al-Quneitra in the south; Homs and Hama in the centre; Latakia, in the west, and Damascus and its suburbs.

Of those killed, 155 were children or teenagers, 133 were women and the rest were men.

The regime has increased airstrikes on civilian targets since October for unknown reasons.

In February, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling on all parties to immediately cease attacks on civilians, the indiscriminate bombing of populated areas and the use of barrel bombs.

More than 200,000 people have died since the multi-sided Syrian civil war started in March 2011, according to the UN.