16 killed in car bomb attacks in Syria Idlib

At least 16 people have been killed in two car bomb attacks in Syria’s Idlib Province near a border post with Turkey.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies heavily on a network of spies working for the foreign-backed opposition, said on Monday that six militants were among the casualties from the attacks which also left 20 other people injured.

The UK-based rights group said that one of the attacks took place inside the Bab al-Hawa border post and the other one hit a checkpoint just outside the crossing.

The Bab al-Hawa crossing has been reportedly controlled by insurgents fighting militants from the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in recent weeks.

Elsewhere, in the Christian town of Saidnaya near the capital Damascus, two mortar shells fired by foreign-sponsored militants hit a school and St. Georges Monastery. There has been no immediate report on possible casualties.

A British defense study showed that about 100,000 militants, fragmented into 1,000 groups, are fighting in Syria against the government and people.

The extracts of the study by defense consultancy IHS Jane’s were published on September 16, 2013.

IHS Jane’s estimates that some 10,000 militants are fighting for groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the rest fight for different militant groups.

The analysis also said that a large number of extremists from foreign countries are active in Syria.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since March 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.

According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced due to the violence.