The blast hit a security checkpoint controlled by rebels fighting under the Free Syrian Army (FSA) banner in the village of Sousian, killing 41 people including 35 civilians, the sources in the region said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said 42 people were killed. However, both those sides, as well as a group of militias led by Kurdish forces and supported by the U.S., are also fighting Islamic State, which holds large swathes of northern and eastern Syria. Turkey directly intervened in Syria in August in support of a group of rebel factions fighting under the Free Syrian Army banner to drive Islamic State from its border. After taking al-Bab on Thursday, Turkish forces shelled Islamic State in the smaller neighboring town of Tadef, the Observatory reported.

Source: Huffington Post February 24, 2017 09:49 UTC