Government forces shelled opposition-held areas of Syria's Aleppo on Saturday (September 22nd), the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

In this shelling, five members of the same family, including children, were killed in Maysar, said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

Opposition fighters and government troops also clashed across Aleppo province in al-Bab and several other towns, the monitoring group said. At least 11 soldiers and five opposition fighters were killed in fierce clashes in the Orm and Kaf Jum areas, near the border with Turkey, and a woman died in shelling as opposition forces attacked checkpoints in Abezmo.

Elsewhere in Syria, in the central city of Homs, one soldier was killed in clashes near the Old City, while a civilian also died in the Jouret al-Shiyah district.

And outside Homs, four soldiers were killed in an attack on their vehicle and a man was killed elsewhere in the province. Three opposition members were killed in clashes in the town of Rastan, the Observatory said.

Meanwhile, security forces reportedly carried out a wave of arrests and raids in the town of Hara in the southern province of Deraa, where fighting broke out in Dael, another village.

"Every day, dozens of people have been arrested in Deraa," Abdel Rahman said. "Some are released but we have no idea how many remain behind bars."

The Syrian Observatory gave an initial toll of at least 31 people killed nationwide on Saturday. It reported a total of 142 people, including 88 civilians, killed on Friday.