Ten civilians were killed near Aleppo Friday when regime air raids hit a bus travelling on a key road out of the embattled northern Syrian city, the civil defence said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group, also reported intense strikes on the road but gave a lower toll of eight civilians killed.

The Castello road, where a bus was also hit by regime bombing raids on Wednesday, is a key rebel supply route out of divided Aleppo.

The civil defence, known as the White Helmets, said regime raids also killed four people in opposition-held eastern parts of Aleppo on Friday.

More than 200 civilians have been killed in Aleppo over the past two weeks as rebels have pounded government-controlled neighbourhoods with rocket and artillery fire and the regime has hit rebel areas with air raids.

At least 280,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since Syria's war started with the brutal repression of anti-government protests in 2011.

Source: AFP