Syria Islamist rebels bomb tunnel, kill 20

Islamist rebels, who planted explosives in a tunnel under the Syrian’s army position in Aleppo, have killed at least 20 regime soldiers and pro-regime militia on Saturday, Agence France-Presse reported a monitor as saying.

“Islamist rebels detonated a tunnel near the Zahrawi market in the Old City of Aleppo, killing at least 20 army soldiers and pro-regime militiamen,” according to Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, quoted by AFP.

The attack was claimed by the Islamic Front, Syria’s largest rebel alliance, which counts as its members thousands of fighters across the war-torn country.

The Front posted a link to a video on its Twitter account, showing a huge blast throwing a massive cloud of debris up into the air.

The Old City is a flashpoint area that sees daily fighting, and the army has set up multiple positions there.

The historic Old City area has also seen horrific violence ever since a major rebel offensive on Aleppo in July 2012.

Fighting after the bombing

After the explosion, fighting broke out, leaving at least one rebel killed, said the UK-based Observatory.

In recent weeks, the Islamic Front has frequently used tunnels to plant massive amounts of explosives beneath army positions.

The tactic has been used mainly in Aleppo and neighboring Idlib provinces.

The latest blast came a day after the Observatory said some 2,000 people have been killed since January in regime bombing of rebel-held areas of Aleppo city and nearby towns and villages.

Syria’s war has killed more than 162,000 people, and forced nearly half the population to flee their homes.

(With AFP)