Men search for belongings at a site hit by missiles in the Douma neighborhood of Damascus, Syria December 13, 2015

ISIS militants shelled a school district in eastern Syria on Tuesday, killing at least nine students and wounding around 20 other people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.

Syrian state media said nine girls had been killed and said “shells fired by terrorists” had hit the government-held area in Deir al-Zor city, the capital of the province of the same name, which is mostly held by Islamic State fighters.

The Observatory, which tracks the Syrian conflict using sources on the ground, said the number of dead was likely to rise and said dozens of people had been killed and wounded in months in heavy shelling of Deir al-Zor.

Schools have frequently been a target of violence in Syria. Last week intense air and missile strikes on a school district and other areas in insurgent-held Damascus suburbs killed dozens, according to the Observatory.

On the same day, state media said mortar attacks targeting residential neighborhoods of Damascus had killed three and wounded at least 30 people, most of them students.

Related articles across the web

• Dec. 15 Middle East news summary at 2200 GMT
• Syria: Attack on Damascus suburb after 45 killed in air strikes
• Dozens killed in northern Syria air strikes
• Syria army retakes key hilltop in coastal province
• Live Blog: Tracking Islamic State
• Bombardment of Syria opp. bastion kills 28
• Car bomb near hospital in central Syria kills at least 16
• Children and school principal killed in air strikes on Syrian school district
• Caught On Tape: Chaotic Aftermath Of A Russian Strike On ISIS Oil Tankers
• Caught On Tape: Chaotic Aftermath Of A Russian Strike On ISIS Oil Tankers