DAMASCUS (REUTERS) - At least 40 people, including several children, were killed on Thursday (Dec 29) in air strikes targeting rebel-held territory in the Eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Air strikes on Arbin killed three children and two adults, injuring several more, the Observatory said.

Amateur video purported to show adults and children running through smoke-filled streets from a school in Arbin, in the Eastern Ghouta area, after one such air strike.

In another of several videos posted online, a boy is seen being rescued from rubble after a purported air strike in Arbin before being rushed to an ambulance.

At least seven children were killed in air strikes on Thursday in several parts of Eastern Ghouta in an escalation of attacks on the area, the monitor said.