( CNN ) -- It was cloudy the afternoon of January 3 when residents say the cluster bombs fell on the Syrian town of Latamneh . Three rockets containing the cluster munitions fell in nearby fields , apparently doing no harm , but a fourth landed on the street between residential buildings . Its impact was devastating . Read more : Journalists die amid Syrian clashes . One man was driving down the street when submunitions from the rockets exploded , killing him instantly , residents said . Fifteen civilians walking down the street or in their homes were wounded , including women and children , according to two residents and video evidence . Residents said that an hour after the attack , a submunition that had failed to detonate on impact killed a man who tried to remove it from his yard . It exploded in his hands . Since mid-2012 , Human Rights Watch and others have reported several times on civilian casualties caused by Syrian use of air-dropped cluster bombs , but Latamneh and other recent attacks are the first known instances of Syrian use of ground-based cluster munitions . The rockets were apparently launched from the vicinity of nearby Hama airport , which is under government control . Evidence we have seen suggests that Syrian government forces delivered the 122mm cluster munition rockets containing submunitions using a BM-21 Grad multi-barrel rocket launcher , a truck-mounted system capable of firing 40 rockets nearly simultaneously with a range of 4 to 40 kilometers ( 2.5 to 25 miles ) . Grad rocket launchers are notorious for their inability to be accurately targeted due to their lack of a guidance system . This exacerbates the danger from the wide-area effect of the submunitions the rockets contain . More : Syrian regime denies use of cluster bombs . Many countries , including Lebanon and Cambodia , have experienced civilian casualties from similar types of submunitions , both at the time of attack and from submunitions that did n't explode on initial impact . Each submunition is the size of a D-cell battery with a distinctive white ribbon , and the design of their fuze system makes each one very sensitive and liable to detonate if disturbed . After years of civilian harm caused by cluster munitions , Israel 's massive use of the weapons in southern Lebanon in 2006 helped propel governments into action . Working with civil society groups such as Human Rights Watch and international organizations , a broad-based coalition of like-minded governments sought to do something to reduce the unacceptable harm caused by cluster munitions . Read more : Moscow suspends consular operations in Aleppo . The resulting Convention on Cluster Munitions , adopted May 30 , 2008 , comprehensively prohibits cluster munitions and requires their clearance and assistance to victims . A total of 111 nations , including many former users , producers , and stockpilers of the weapon , as well as countries contaminated by cluster munition remnants , have embraced the ban convention . Yet there has been limited interest in the Middle East and North Africa regions , where just three countriesâ€ ” Iraq , Lebanon , and Tunisiaâ€ ” are onboard the treaty banning cluster bombs . Some nations , such as Jordan , say they need more time to study the convention 's provisions , while others including Egypt , Iran , and Israel have produced , imported , exported , and stockpiled cluster munitions . Read more : Envoy : 2013 could bring 100,000 deaths in Syria . The 122mm cluster munition rockets used by Syria bear the markings of the Egyptian state-owned Arab Organization for Industrialization and an Egyptian company called Sakr Factory for Development Industries . Syria could have bought these cluster munitions from Egypt , received them through military cooperation , or acquired them another way . With no transparency , it is impossible to say how or when they were made or transferred , though it is likely Syria acquired them long ago . Syria 's relentless use of cluster munitions , including in populated areas , is yet another sign of its blatant disregard for international law and the protection of its own civilians . Syria 's use of cluster munitions runs counter to the new international standard being created by the Convention on Cluster Munitions , rejecting any use of the weapons . The preventive impact of the convention and the standard it is establishing can already be seen as countries that have joined the ban rapidly destroy their stockpiles of cluster munitions . In Syria , every time the government has used cluster munitions and other explosive weapons , a lethal legacy of unexploded ordnance is created . Given the terrible humanitarian impact , all governments , regardless of their position on joining the ban convention , should press Syria to stop using cluster munitions . Read more : 'Innocence ' survives 11 hours under bomb rubble in Syria .
Human Rights Watch says cluster bombs were used on Syrian village of Latamneh . The militants release dozens of smaller bombs , which can maim or burn long after impact . Syrian government has previously denied dropping bombs on civilians .