WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is giving $12 million in new humanitarian aid for beleaguered Syrian civilians as the civil war rages between rebels and the Assad regime in Aleppo and elsewhere, U.S. officials said Thursday.

The announcement of the new aid, which could come later Thursday, will take total U.S. humanitarian relief to $76 million since Syria's conflict began last year. The aid is separate from the $25 million in communications equipment and medical supplies that Washington is providing directly to the Syrian opposition.

The additional relief money will go to the U.N. refugee agency, the international Red Cross, UNICEF and other organizations providing assistance to Syrian civilians, said the officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to divulge the information.