( CNN ) -- `` May God bring you pain , Bashar . '' The curse is from a woman as she stands over a young child , dressed in purple pants and a matching shirt . Cursing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad , she asks why the girl had to die -- one of 10 children killed by shelling Sunday on a playground in a Damascus suburb , according to opposition activists . The woman 's cries are among a host of heart-wrenching moments captured on video from Deir al-Assafir . Posted on YouTube and quickly spread via social media , it begins by showing the bodies of two seemingly dead little girls on the ground , then two more bodies in a car , then adults carrying even more limp children . A young girl on the pavement cries uncontrollably until she 's picked up . The opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said cluster bombs from Syrian warplanes killed children while they were playing . Alexia Jade , a spokeswoman for the opposition-run Damascus Media Office , said residents in Deir al-Assafir believe the attack was committed by the government in retaliation for rebels taking over a nearby military airport . Rami Abdulrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , however , said it 's not known what happened . Whatever the explanation , the images represent another sordid chapter in Syria 's bloody civil war . The violence raged again on Monday , with at least 168 people killed across the country . More than half of those reported deaths -- 90 of them -- were in the capital and its suburbs , with another 35 in Aleppo , the LCC reported . Rockets pummeled the Syrian city of Atma on Monday , not far from a key command center for the rebel Free Syrian Army , a witness said . Two rockets fell within several hundred meters of the command center , the witness said . It 's unclear whether any rebels were injured , but the building did not appear to be damaged . About 40,000 civilians have been killed since the first protests sprung up about 20 months ago against al-Assad 's government , according to the opposition Center for Documentation of Violations in Syria . Meanwhile , more than 380,000 Syrians have fled the violence and become refugees in countries such as Turkey and Lebanon , the United Nations reports . The Syrian government routinely refers to its battle against `` terrorists , '' the term it uses for rebel fighters and extremist elements in the country . On Sunday , the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported on several military operations `` in pursuit of al Qaeda terrorists who are perpetrating acts of killing and looting , '' in some instances identifying those killed and where they purportedly came from , such as Saudi Arabia , Libya and Palestinian territories . CNN can not confirm claims by the government or the opposition because of government restrictions that prevent journalists from reporting freely within Syria . What started as security forces cracking down on mostly nonviolent protesters has spiraled into a civil war between pro-government forces and the rebels , including the Free Syrian Army . Rebel fighters scored significant victories over the weekend , according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights . Overnight Saturday , rebels stormed Marj al-Sultan airport , about 12 miles ( 20 kilometers ) from Damascus , and destroyed two helicopters and a number of vehicles . In Daraa province , rebels claimed to have taken over a base near the Jordanian border that once housed the Syrian army 's fourth battalion . The violence has spilled over , too , into neighboring countries . Turkey has turned against its former ally , asking its fellow NATO members last week for Patriot missiles to bolster its air defenses because of several deaths in its territory blamed on Syrian forces . A delegation of Turkish and NATO officials was to begin a site survey Tuesday to determine where to deploy the batteries , the Turkish military said Monday . `` The deployment of the Air and Missile Defense System is a precaution for defensive purposes for possible air and missile threats from Syria , and is not for the establishment of a no fly zone or for offensive maneuvers , '' according to the Turkish military statement . The bloodshed has seeped into Lebanon as well , where there have been deadly clashes between pro- and anti-Syrian factions . And Israel 's army fired warning shots toward Syria earlier this month after a mortar shell hit one of its military posts . Protests continue in Egypt . CNN 's Nick Paton Walsh , Ammar Cheikhomar , Samira Said , Raja Razek , Roba Alhenawi and Karen Smith contributed to this report .
NEW : 168 dead across Syria , mostly in the Damascus area , an opposition group says . Comment: State-run media report on military operations targeting `` al Qaeda terrorists '' Witness says rockets fell close to a rebel command center .