At least 12 people were killed on Friday in government shelling of a Syrian Kurdish town in the northern province of Aleppo, a monitoring group said.

"Twelve Kurdish citizens, including six children... were killed in government shelling of an area in the town of Tal-Aran," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, adding at least 11 other people were wounded.

The town is east of Aleppo city, and near the town of Sfeireh, which is largely controlled by jihadist fighters and has been a key target for the regime in recent weeks.