Syrian state media say car bombings in two villages in the province of Hama have killed 18 people, including 11 children.
State television said 50 people were injured in the attacks, which occurred Friday in the towns of Jibreen and Humayri.
The villages are under government control and consist primarily of citizens belonging to the Alawite sect of President Bashar al-Assad.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the attack, but its contacts put the death toll at 15 people.
No one has claimed responsibility for the bombings, though al-Qaida regularly carries out such attacks on government targets.
On Tuesday, at least 100 people were killed in an al-Qaida double car bombing in an Alawite neighborhood in the central city of Homs.
Also this week, opposition groups said airstrikes on two civilian targets killed dozens in the rebel-held district of Aleppo.
The Observatory said at least 33 people were killed on Thursday when government aircraft struck a busy market in the Hillok area.
A day earlier, the organization said an airstrike on an Aleppo school left 18 people dead, many of them children.
At least 150,000 people have died in the Syrian civil war, which began in March 2011 as protests against Assad's rule.
This week, Assad confirmed that he will run in a June 3 presidential election, which he is easily expected to win.
State television said 50 people were injured in the attacks, which occurred Friday in the towns of Jibreen and Humayri.
The villages are under government control and consist primarily of citizens belonging to the Alawite sect of President Bashar al-Assad.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the attack, but its contacts put the death toll at 15 people.
No one has claimed responsibility for the bombings, though al-Qaida regularly carries out such attacks on government targets.
On Tuesday, at least 100 people were killed in an al-Qaida double car bombing in an Alawite neighborhood in the central city of Homs.
Also this week, opposition groups said airstrikes on two civilian targets killed dozens in the rebel-held district of Aleppo.
The Observatory said at least 33 people were killed on Thursday when government aircraft struck a busy market in the Hillok area.
A day earlier, the organization said an airstrike on an Aleppo school left 18 people dead, many of them children.
At least 150,000 people have died in the Syrian civil war, which began in March 2011 as protests against Assad's rule.
This week, Assad confirmed that he will run in a June 3 presidential election, which he is easily expected to win.
