The United Nations investigates attacks on hospitals and clinics in Syria that are carried out after information on their location was shared with Russia, the United Nation (UN) aid chief said today.

With Russia's backing, the UN Security Council yesterday unanimously demanded a 30-day ceasefire in Syria to allow for humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations.

Syrian regime air strikes and artillery fire hit the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta for a sixth straight day yesterday killing 32 civilians, as the European Union joined a host of other countries to stop the carnage, saying “massacre must stop now”.

US President Barack Obama says there have been gains against so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria but warned the group still poses a threat.

Bombings claimed by the Islamic State group kill more than 50 people and wound dozens near a revered Shiite shrine outside the Syrian capital Damascus.

Aid including one month's worth of food and medicine can reach for 40,000 people trapped in Madaya, a besieged Syrian village as early as Sunday morning, the World Food Programme says.

The Syrian government agrees to allow aid into the besieged rebel-held village of Madaya, the UN says, amid reports of residents starving to death.

Russia is to hold more talks with the US on air safety during the two countries’ Syrian bombing campaigns, says the Pentagon.