Syrians carry a body from a destroyed building after shelling during the night on the Bustan al-Qasr district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Wednesday. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s is preparing for an inevitable re-election next week as the civil war shifts in the army’s favour, with rebels losing ground and world powers paralyzed by divisions. (AFP Photo / Karam A-Masri)

BEIRUT, Lebanon: The death toll from Syrian air raids on rebel-held areas in the northern city of Aleppo has topped 40 over a 24-hour period, a monitoring group said Wednesday.

Barrel bombs killed 22 people Tuesday in the eastern districts of Hay Qataneh, Tariq Al-Bab, Bustan Al-Qasr, Bani Zeid, Mghayer and Lairamoun, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Another 21 people died on Wednesday in another wave of barrel bomb strikes on Mghayer, said the Britain-based group, which compiles its information from a network of medics and opposition activists on the ground.

Nine children figured among the dead, the Observatory added, warning that the toll could rise because “many people are in serious condition and there must bodies under the rubble.”