Eighteen people, including 11 children, have been killed in car bomb attacks in two Syrian villages, state-run television said today.

The report said the explosions took place in Jabreen and Humayri, in central Hama province, which are under government control.

Rami Abdurrahman, of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the group's activists counted at least 15 dead from the blasts. Conflicting death tolls are common after large bombings.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombings, but al Qaida- affiliated rebels of the Nusra Front have said they carried out several car bombings in recent weeks.

Rights groups have condemned both President Bashar Assad's government and the rebels fighting to oust him for using weapons and attacks which overwhelmingly kill civilians.