World

Syria war: Unexplained blast kills 15 in rebel-held Idlib

April 25, 2019 5:09 am

An explosion in the opposition-held Syrian province of Idlib has killed at least 15 people, rescue workers say.

Three buildings in the town of Jisr al-Shughour were destroyed by the blast, the cause of which was not known.

A monitoring group said it happened in front of an office belonging to the jihadist alliance that largely controls the province, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

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Idlib has been hit by several bombings in recent months, as well as by Russian air strikes and Syrian army shellfire.

HTS commanders have blamed previous bombings on President Bashar al-Assad’s intelligence services and the rival jihadist group Islamic State (IS), saying they are seeking to destabilise the last opposition stronghold remaining in Syria after eight years of civil war which have left more than 370,000 people dead.