At least 50 people were killed on Saturday when the Syrian regime targeted a town in an opposition-held suburb of Damascus with barrel bombs, according to a local medical source.

The source, who works at a local field hospital, told Anadolu Agency that Syrian aircraft had targeted Douma, the largest town in the Eastern Ghouta suburb.

A number of buildings were destroyed by the attacks, he said, while at least 50 people -- mainly women and children -- were killed.

Another 100 were injured, the source added, many of them seriously.

The Syrian regime has launched three separate barrel bomb attacks since the beginning of August, resulting in the death of at least 177 people.

"Barrel bombs" are improvised devices typically consisting of barrels filled with explosive material, shrapnel, oil or chemicals. They are usually dropped from army helicopters.

Syria’s ongoing conflict, which has left the country divided between heavily-armed warring factions, began in early 2011 when the regime of President Bashar al-Assad responded with unexpected ferocity to protests that erupted as part of the “Arab Spring” uprisings.

Since then, roughly half of the country’s population has been displaced by the violence, with nearly four million Syrians now seeking refuge in neighboring countries, especially Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq.

The conflict has left more than 220,000 people dead to date, according to UN figures.

PHOTO CAPTION

This photo released by the Douma Revolution News Network on their Facebook page, shows Syrians looking for bodies under debris of destroyed buildings following a Syrian regime airstrike on the Damascus suburb of Douma, Syria, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015.

AA