Syrian armed opposition groups, among them jihadists but also Western-backed rebels, have indiscriminately targeted civilians in violation of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said on Monday.

In a new report, the New York-based group said it had documented dozens of opposition attacks against civilians in government-held parts of Syria (…)

The report said several dozen car bomb attacks in Damascus and Homs provinces had hit areas with no government military targets, and often targeted districts occupied by religious minorities.

HRW also documented regular indiscriminate shelling by opposition groups on the capital Damascus and Homs city, mostly against civilian areas, and in some cases schools full of children.

The groups responsible for the indiscriminate attacks ranged from jihadists like the Islamic State group to rebels grouped under the Western-backed Free Syrian Army, the report said (…)