Car bomb near Syria-Turkey border crossing kills at least 20

Amman: 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.