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

A pro-Damascus media outlet said Syrian planes targeted militants in al-Waer neighborhood after the insurgents fired at civilian areas in government-held Homs.

It was a rare deadly flare-up in the area. Al-Waer has for months been spared the intense bombardment by Syrian and Russian air forces suffered by other areas including Idlib province, controlled by President Bashar Assad's opponents.