Car bomb near Turkey border crossing kills at least 20

Gbenga Bada 23:16 - 13 October 2016

Rebel fighters of 'Al-Sultan Murad' brigade gather on the outskirts of the northern Syrian town of Shawa, which is controlled by Islamic State militants, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria, September 28, 2016

Witneses have said at least 20 people died in an explosion caused by a bomb in a car near tge Syria-Turkey border.

At least 20 people, mostly Syrian rebel fighters, were killed after a car bomb exploded on Thursday near a checkpoint close to the Bab al Salam crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in northern Syria, two witnesses said.

They said the blast took place near a checkpoint manned by a group of Free Syrian Army's (FSA) Jabhat al Shamiya close to a car depot nearly two km (one mile )away from the border crossing, a major conduit for traffic between northern Syria into Turkey.

The Bab al Salam crossing is close to the city of Azaz, a major stronghold of Turkish-backed moderate Syrian rebel fighters involved in a major operation to the east against Islamic State militants' remaining presence along the border.