Bomb Kills at Least 25 Turkish-Backed Rebels in North Syria

BEIRUT (Reuters) —
Turkish tanks stationed near the Syrian border, in Karkamis, Turkey, Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016. Turkey's state-run news agency says Turkish tanks have entered Syria's Cobanbey district northeast of Aleppo in a "new phase" of the Euphrates Shield operation. Turkish tanks crossed into Syria Saturday to support Syrian rebels against the Islamic State group, according to the Anadolu news agency. (Ismail Coskun, IHA via AP)
Turkish tanks stationed near the Syrian border, in Karkamis, Turkey, Sept. 3. (Ismail Coskun, IHA via AP)

A bomb blast at a Syria-Turkey border crossing killed at least 25 Turkish-backed rebel terrorists and wounded dozens more on Thursday, witnesses and a monitoring group reported.

The blast took place on the Syrian side of the Atmeh crossing, west of Aleppo.

Most of the rebels were from a group called Failaq al-Sham, witnesses said. Turkey is backing the rebels in an offensive against Islamic State further to the northeast, along a separate stretch of border.

The rebels use the Atmeh crossing to move between Idlib province, through Turkey, to areas of Aleppo province along the border where the fight against IS is taking place, the Observatory said.

Residents told Reuters they also use it to evacuate wounded terrorists.

Ankara’s operation, dubbed “Euphrates Shield,” has also targeted Kurdish terrorists.

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