60 killed as blast hits Syrian rebels fighting Islamic State: Monitor

A car bomb hit military and security offices near al-Bab of Trukey-based Syrian rebels fighting Islamic State, killing 60 people.

A car bomb in a village near al-Bab in Syria struck Syrian rebels fighting Islamic State early on Friday, killing 60 people and wounding dozens more.

A general view shows a burnt out vehicle on a destroyed street in the northwestern border town of al-Bab on February 23, 2017 after Turkish-backed Syrian rebels fully recaptured the town from the Islamic State (IS) group. (AFP)

The Turkey-backed rebels on Thursday drove Islamic State from al-Bab, the jihadist group’s last significant stronghold in northwest Syria, along with two smaller neighbouring towns of Qabasin and al-Bezah, after weeks of street fighting.

The car bomb struck military and security offices in Sousian, which is behind the rebel lines about eight km northwest of al-Bab, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said.

Turkey’s state news agency Andadolu said the death toll was 60.

On Thursday, several Turkey-backed rebels were killed by a mine in al-Bab while clearing the town of unexploded ordnance after Islamic State retreated, the Observatory said.

Syria’s main conflict pits President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russia, Iran and Shia militias, against rebels that include groups supported by Turkey, the United States and Gulf monarchies.

However, both those sides, as well as a group of militias led by Kurdish forces and supported by the US, are also fighting Islamic State, which holds large swathes of northern and eastern Syria.

After taking al-Bab on Thursday, Turkish forces shelled Islamic State in the smaller neighbouring town of Tadef, the Observatory reported. The area immediately to the south of Tadef is held by the Syrian army and its allies.