Damascus, June 8 (IANS): At least 49 people were killed on Monday in a Syrian airstrike against a rebel-held area in northwestern Syria, media reported.

Six children and four women were among those killed in the air raids, which targeted a main square in Janudiyeh town in northwestern city of Jisr al-Shughour in Idlib province, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Britain-based watchdog group said the death toll was likely to rise due to the large number of critically wounded people.

Meanwhile, the observatory, which relies on a network of activists on ground, said clashes took place between Syrian army and jihadist groups in the town of Frikeh and countryside of Jisr al-Shughour.

It added that several Syrian military vehicles withdrew from the town toward Ghab Plains in the countryside of central province of Hama.

The state news agency SANA said the Syrian airstrikes targeted several areas in Idlib countryside, killing "terrorists" and destroying their weaponry.

The Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and likeminded groups captured much of Idlib province over the past couple of months. The radical militants are still scoring progress against the Syrian forces in the few remaining government-controlled towns in the province near Turkish borders.