Image copyright AFP Image caption Residential buildings in the rebel-held city of Idlib were badly damaged by the explosion

At least 40 people have reportedly been killed in an explosion and a series of air strikes across the rebel-held north Syrian province of Idlib.

The blast, on Sunday night outside the headquarters of the Islamist rebel faction Ajnad al-Qawqaz in the city of Idlib, left 25 people dead.

The cause was not clear but many believed a car bomb was responsible.

Activists say another 15 people were killed in Syrian government and Russian air strikes elsewhere on Sunday.

The attacks came as the Syrian military announced they had recaptured the strategically important town of Sinjar in south-eastern Idlib.

Troops are advancing towards Abu al-Zuhour airbase, about 14km (nine miles) away, which rebels captured when they seized control of most of the province in 2015.

The large explosion in the centre of the provincial capital damaged several buildings and destroyed vehicles parked on Thalatheen Street.

The Syria Civil Defence, whose rescue workers are known as the White Helmets, says four children and 11 women were among the 25 people killed.

Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption Rescue workers rushed to the scene on Sunday night and pulled victims from the rubble

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, put the death toll at 34, including 19 civilians. Other fatalities are believed to have been members of Ajnad al-Qawqaz, it said.

In the rebel faction are many foreign fighters from the Caucasus and Russia and it is allied with Hayat Tahir al-Sham, a jihadist force linked to al-Qaeda.

The Syrian Observatory attributed the explosion to a car bomb or drone strike.

Rebel-held areas outside the city were also reportedly subjected to deadly air strikes on Sunday:

Eleven members of the same family were killed in a raid on the town of Jarjanaz, 35km to the south-east, according to the Syrian Observatory. The pro-opposition Edlib Media Center said witnesses had identified the aircraft as Russian

The Syria Civil Defence said a father and his son had also been killed and four other members of their family wounded in a strike on the town of Kansafra, 32km south-west of Idlib city

Air strikes reportedly continued across Idlib on Monday. Jarjanaz was targeted again, along with the town of Saraqeb, the Edlib Media Center says.

Idlib, which borders Turkey to the north, is home to an estimated 2.5 million people, including one million who have fled other rebel-held parts of Syria in recent years.

The UN says fighting and air strikes inside Idlib have forced more than 60,000 people to leave their homes since 1 November, and that they are in a "dire" situation.</s>BEIRUT: An explosion in Syria's northwestern city of Idlib killed at least 23 people and injured tens more, including civilians, a war monitor reported on Sunday (Jan 7).

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the explosion targeted the headquarters of a minor rebel faction in Idlib.

The nature of the attack was not immediately clear. The monitor said there were conflicting accounts, attributing the explosion that shook the Thalatheen district of the city to either a car bomb or a drone attack.

Ambulances were deployed to the explosion site and rescue teams were continuing efforts to recover bodies and the injured from the rubble of the targeted building and neighbouring houses, the monitor added.

The majority of the deaths were fighters from the rebel group, in addition to seven civilians, with several people still unaccounted for, it said.

"A large explosion on Sunday evening hit the base of the Ajnad al-Qawqaz faction in Idlib," said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights head Rami Abdel Rahman, adding that most of the non-civilian casualties were fighters from the group.

Dozens of people were wounded, particularly fighters, according to Abdel Rahman who said the base was "almost completely destroyed" and that nearby buildings were damaged.

The Ajnad al-Qawqaz group includes hundreds of Caucasian fighters and is battling alongside the Fateh al-Sham Front, a former Al-Qaeda affiliate, to repel a Syrian regime advance in the southeast of Idlib province.

Idlib province is a stronghold of rebels in Syria and is situated on the border with Turkey, one of the main backers of rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad.

The Syrian army and its allies launched an offensive in October to recapture the provinces of Idlib and Hama, and it has since been making swift advances.

The area has seen intense clashes following a regime offensive aimed at seizing a strategically vital highway between Damascus and second city Aleppo.



The main rebel force in Idlib is Tahrir al-Sham, spearheaded by the former al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria previously called Nusra Front.

The Syrian army lost Idlib to insurgents when the provincial capital fell in 2015. It became the only province fully under opposition control.



The Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of activists across Syria, said regime forces had seized more than 60 villages in the area since Dec 25.

An alliance dominated by Fateh al-Sham controls much of Idlib province where there are regular car bombings, often blamed on disputes between armed factions.

Some residents blame the Islamic State group for such attacks, although the group has no open presence in the province.</s>At least 23 people were killed on Sunday, including seven civilians, and dozens injured after a powerful explosion aimed against the headquarters of an Islamic insurgent group in the city of Idlib, in northwestern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Amongst the injured there are serious and critical cases, which could increase the death toll in the next few hours, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights warned.

The organization could not determine whether the explosion was triggered by a regular bomb or a car bomb.

The target of the attack was the headquarters of the armed group "Soldiers of the Caucasus," one of the Islamic fundamentalist rebel groups operating in Idlib which is made up of fighters from Central Asia.

Rescue teams were transferring the wounded and the dead bodies and continuing the task to rescue those who are trapped under the rubble following the explosion.

The province is controlled almost entirely by the Organization for the Liberation of the Levant, an alliance created by al-Qaeda's former Syrian branch and other armed groups who are fighting against the forces loyal to the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.</s>BEIRUT (Reuters) - An explosion in Syria’s northwestern city of Idlib killed at least 23 people and injured tens more, including civilians, a war monitor reported on Sunday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the explosion targeted the headquarters of a minor rebel faction in Idlib.

The nature of the attack was not immediately clear. The monitor said there were conflicting accounts, attributing the explosion that shook the Thalatheen district of the city to either a car bomb or a drone attack.

Ambulances were deployed to the explosion site and rescue teams were continuing efforts to recover bodies and the injured from the rubble of the targeted building and neighboring houses, the monitor added.

The majority of the deaths were fighters from the rebel group, in addition to seven civilians, with several people still unaccounted for, it said.

Idlib province is a stronghold of rebels in Syria and is situated on the border with Turkey, one of the main backers of rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad.

The Syrian army and its allies launched an offensive in October to recapture the provinces of Idlib and Hama, and it has since been making swift advances.

The main rebel force in Idlib is Tahrir al-Sham, spearheaded by the former al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria previously called Nusra Front.

The Syrian army lost Idlib to insurgents when the provincial capital fell in 2015. It became the only province fully under opposition control.</s>BEIRUT (AP) — A large explosion in Syria's largest rebel-held city, Idlib, killed at least 23 people on Sunday, activists reported.

The blast ignited fires, damaged buildings and overturned several cars along a wide avenue in the city, according to photos and video posted by the activist-run Thiqa News Agency and Baladi News Agencies. Ambulances and fire brigades were seen rushing to the scene.

Idlib is the capital of a province by the same name that is controlled by several rebel factions, including an al-Qaida-linked group, vying for dominance as government forces are pushing an offensive into the southeast corner of the region.

The bombing took place outside an office of an insurgent group called Ajnad al-Koukaz, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a local media activist who declined to be named out of fear of reprisals. The faction is made up of foreign fighters, mostly from the Caucuses and Russia, said the media activist. It is in alliance with an al-Qaida-linked faction that dominates the province, according to Observatory's chief Rami Abdurrahman.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack. There were no sounds of an airstrike, according to local activist Abdulghani Dabaan. Residents said they believed it was a car bomb.

Initial reports said 18 were killed but the death toll quickly rose to 23. Dozens were reported wounded, and at least 35 were brought to one of the city's hospitals, according to Mohammad al-Shaghal, a medical technician.

The bombing came hours after the Syrian military announced it had recaptured a strategically important town in eastern Idlib. The state-affiliated Al-Ikhbariya TV says government forces took Sinjar on Sunday.

The Observatory said the advance "opens the road" for the government troops to march on the rebel-held Abu Zuhour air base, about 19 kilometers (12 miles), to the north.

The military has assigned one of its top commanders to lead the offensive into Idlib, the last major stronghold for rebels in northern Syria. The U.N. says more than 2.5 million people are currently living in Idlib, including more than 1 million displaced by fighting from other parts the Syria.</s>At least 23 killed in explosion in Syria’s Idlib, war monitor says (VIDEO)

File picture of children walking past debris from damaged buildings in Idlib.Idlib province is a stronghold of rebels in Syria and is situated on the border with Turkey, one of the main backers of rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad. — Reuters picBEIRUT, Jan 7 — An explosion in Syria’s northwestern city of Idlib killed at least 23 people and injured tens more, including civilians, a war monitor reported yesterday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the explosion targeted the headquarters of a minor rebel faction in Idlib.

The nature of the attack was not immediately clear. The monitor said there were conflicting accounts, attributing the explosion that shook the Thalatheen district of the city to either a car bomb or a drone attack.

Ambulances were deployed to the explosion site and rescue teams were continuing efforts to recover bodies and the injured from the rubble of the targeted building and neighbouring houses, the monitor added.

The majority of the deaths were fighters from the rebel group, in addition to seven civilians, with several people still unaccounted for, it said.

Idlib province is a stronghold of rebels in Syria and is situated on the border with Turkey, one of the main backers of rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad.

The Syrian army and its allies launched an offensive in October to recapture the provinces of Idliband Hama, and it has since been making swift advances.

The main rebel force in Idlib is Tahrir al-Sham, spearheaded by the former al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria previously called Nusra Front.

The Syrian army lost Idlib to insurgents when the provincial capital fell in 2015. It became the only province fully under opposition control. — Reuters</s>BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least 18 people were killed and tens more injured, including civilians, in an explosion in Syria’s northwestern city of Idlib, a war monitor reported on Sunday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the explosion targeted the headquarters of an opposition faction in Idlib. It was not immediately clear what the nature of the attack was.</s>At least 18 have been killed and tens more injured in an explosion in Syria's northwestern city of Idlib, a war monitor reported Sunday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the explosion targeted the headquarters of an opposition faction in Idlib. It was not immediately clear what the nature of the attack was.

Ambulances and rescue teams rushed to the explosion site and efforts are under way to pull out the bodies and rescue the injured trapped under the rubble of the targeted building and neighboring houses, the monitor added.

Idlib province is a stronghold of Syrian opposition forces and is situated on the border with Turkey.

The Syrian army and its allies launched an offensive in October to recapture the provinces of Idlib and Hama, and it has since been making swift advances.

The main rebel force in Idlib is Tahrir al-Sham, spearheaded by the former al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria previously called Nusra Front.

The Syrian army lost Idlib to insurgents when the provincial capital fell in 2015. It became the only province fully under opposition control.</s>An explosion at a base for Asian jihadists in northwestern Syria's Idlib city on Sunday killed 23 people including seven civilians, a monitor said.

Extremist groups fighting in Syria count thousands of Asians among their ranks, including many from central Asian states and members of the Muslim Uighur ethnic minority of China's Xinjiang province.

"A large explosion on Sunday evening hit the base of the Ajnad al-Qawqaz faction in Idlib," said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights head Rami Abdel Rahman, adding that most of the non-civilian casualties were fighters from the group.

He did not specify the cause of the blast, but activists on social media said a car bomb was responsible.

Dozens of people were wounded, particularly fighters, according to Abdel Rahman who said the base was "almost completely destroyed" and that nearby buildings were damaged.

The Ajnad al-Qawqaz group includes hundreds of Caucasian fighters and is battling alongside the Fateh al-Sham Front, a former Al-Qaeda affiliate, to repel a Syrian regime advance in the southeast of Idlib province.

The area has seen intense clashes following a regime offensive aimed at seizing a strategically vital highway between Damascus and second city Aleppo.

The Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of activists across Syria, said regime forces had seized more than 60 villages in the area since December 25.

An alliance dominated by Fateh al-Sham controls much of Idlib province where there are regular car bombings, often blamed on disputes between armed factions.

Some residents blame the Islamic State group for such attacks, although the group has no open presence in the province.</s>A Syrian monitoring group and paramedics in the northwestern city of Idlib say the death toll from a massive car bombing there the previous evening has risen to at least 25. Also, nearly 100 people were wounded.

The first-responders Syrian Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets says four children and 11 women were among the 25 killed.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Monday gave a higher death toll, saying 34 people were killed, including 18 civilians.

The Sunday night bombing targeted the office of Ajnad al-Koukaz, a militant group consisting of foreign fighters mostly from the Caucuses and Russia, according to activists.

Idlib is the capital of a province by the same name that is controlled by several rebel factions, including an al-Qaida-linked group.
An explosion at the headquarters of the Chechen-led Ajnad al-Kavkaz rebel group in Idlib, Syria, kills at least 23 people, while several people remain unaccounted for, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.