DAMASCUS (PNA/Xinhua) – At least 73 people, mostly rebels, were killed on Friday when the Islamic State (IS) group carried out a suicide car bombing against a group of Turkish-backed rebels in Syria’s al-Bab near the Turkish borders, activists said.
The IS bombing targeted a security compound of the rebels in the town of Susian behind the defense lines of the Turkey-backed rebels, some 8 km. northwest of al-Bab, which was the largest IS-held city near the Turkish borders.
The bombing came as a retaliation against the Ankara-backed militants, who succeeded, along with the Turkish forces, to dislodge IS from al-Bab on Thursday.
The withdrawal of the IS from al-Bab came after 100 days of battles against the Turkish forces and allied Syrian rebels fighting in an operation called the Euphrates Shield.
The IS claimed it had killed 400 Turkish soldiers and rebel fighters.