12 people were killed and 75 wounded Thursday in fresh mortar attacks that struck three districts in the central Syrian province of Homs, state media said.

The mortars landed in Karm al-Shami, Haj Attef square, and al- Mahata neighborhood in Homs city, the state TV said, adding that women and children were among the dead.

The attack is the latest in a series of mortar attacks and explosions staged by radical rebels in several Syrian cities.

Earlier in the day, 16 people were killed and tens of others wounded when an explosion rocked Syria's central province of Hama.

The blast targeted the town of Kafat in Hama, said the official SANA news agency, adding that women and children were among those killed.