Syrian government jets bombed a rebel-held district of Homs city on Wednesday killing several people, rescue workers and a monitoring group reported.

The raids hit the al-Waer neighbourhood, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Syrian Civil Defence, a rescue service operating in rebel-held territory, said.

The Observatory put the death toll at 8 and more than two-dozen wounded. The Civil Defence did not give a figure.

A military media unit run by Damascus ally Hezbollah said the army had fired rockets at militants in al-Waer, but that the insurgents had fired first.