Air raids by Syrian government warplanes killed 20 civilians, including seven children, in an area southeast of Damascus on Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said. 

Dozens more people were also wounded in the raids on the centre of Hammuriyeh in Eastern Ghouta, the largest rebel stronghold in Damascus province that is regularly bombed by the forces of President Bashar al-Assad, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.