But the Syrian Observatory said clashes continued in the city, punctuated by heavy shelling by regime forces. Dissidents also said rebels destroyed five armored vehicles and a tank.

Violence rages across Syria

Regime forces shelled targets in Raqqa province, a region in north-central Syria more sparsely populated than volatile enclaves to the east, an opposition group said.

The LCC said that, of 164 people killed in Syria on Wednesday, 42 died in Raqqa, many of them in Qahtaniya.

The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency blamed violence against civilians in Qahtaniya, including women and children, on an "armed terrorist group." Since the Syrian conflict began last year, the government has blamed people it labels as terrorists for the violence in the country.

In Hama province, citizen journalist Hassan al-Aarg said government shelling in the village of Kafr Zeta killed two toddler boys.

Their mother had laid them down on a blanket when a rocket strike by a government warplane targeted their home, said al-Aarg, who filmed the aftermath.

"I must find them!" their father wailed as he picked through the rubble to collect bits of flesh to place inside a clear plastic bag.

"Oh, God, do you not see?" their mother asked. "Do you not see?"

The twins died about six miles from where more than 100 people standing on line outside a bakery were killed when it was attacked Sunday by warplanes.

CNN cannot confirm the authenticity of the reports because of the restrictions on journalists. The deaths occurred several miles from the bread line pounded by warplanes Sunday.

More than 40,000 people -- mostly civilians -- have been killed in the Syrian crisis since March 2011, according to tallies by opposition activists.