Car bomb kills scores at rebel-held village

AN ISIL car bomb killed more than 40 people yesterday in a Syrian village held by rebels, a day after the jihadist group was driven from its last stronghold in the area.

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant was driven out of the town of al-Bab on Thursday by Turkey-backed rebels. The victory followed weeks of street battles near the area where Ankara wants to establish a safe zone for civilians.

The blast in the village of Sousian hit a security checkpoint controlled by rebels fighting under the Free Syrian Army (FSA) banner. The Syrian Observ- atory for Human Rights, a monitor of the war based in Britain, said 42 people were killed, and two rebels contacted by Reuters put the death toll at at least 40.

One of the two, a fighter with the Sultan Murad Brigade near al-Bab, said: “It was done on a checkpoint but there were a lot of families gathered there, waiting to get back to al-Bab. Therefore we have many civilian casualties.”

Sousian is behind rebel lines, about five miles north-west of al-Bab. Turkey has long supported the formation of a security zone there, which it says would help to stem a wave of migration via Turkey into Europe. Isil said in a social media posting that it was behind the attack, having acknowledged on Thursday that it had lost control of al-Bab.

Meanwhile, at least 15 Iraqi border guards were killed in an Isil suicide bombing carried out near the Iraqi border with Jordan.

Syria’s conflict pits President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russia, Iran and Shia militias, against rebels that include groups supported by Turkey, the US and Gulf monarchies. However, both sides are also fighting Isil, which holds parts of northern and eastern Syria.