Beirut, Jumada I 4, 1434, Mar 16, 2013, SPA - The Syrian regime is expanding its use of widely banned cluster bombs, an international human rights group said Saturday as the deadlocked conflict entered its third year. In recent months, the regime has escalated airstrikes and artillery attacks on opposition-held areas in the north and east of the country, rights groups have said. On Saturday, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said Syrian forces have dropped at least 156 cluster bombs in 119 locations across the country in the past six months, causing mounting civilian casualties. Two strikes in the past two weeks killed 11 civilians, including two women and five children, the report said. The group said it based its findings on field investigations and analysis of more than 450 amateur videos, according to a report of the Associated Press. Cluster bombs open in flight, scattering smaller bomblets. They pose a threat to civilians long afterwards since many don't explode immediately. Most countries have banned their use. --SPA 13:29 LOCAL TIME 10:29 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/1088179