Beirut, July 9 (IANS/EFE): At least 19 people were killed in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo in regime bombing and rebel rocket attacks, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Thursday.

At least 15 people, including four children, died when Syrian army helicopters dropped barrel bombs on Karm al-Bik neighbourhood on Wednesday just after sunset, when Muslims observing the holy month of Ramadan break their fast, SOHR specified.

The London-based NGO did not rule out the toll rising, as some of the wounded people were in critical condition.

Four other people, including a child, were killed and 17 others wounded when insurgents fired a missile against al-Midan district, controlled by the government, early on Thursday.

Meanwhile, rebels have surged on an area just west of Aleppo in an attempt to seize control of territory under the government's control.

Syria has been the epicentre of conflict for four years, causing the deaths of over 230,000 people, according to SOHR.