Syria car bomb kills at least 30 in Hama

Originally published on October 21, 2013

A huge suicide truck bomb exploded at a military checkpoint outside the Syrian city of Hama on Sunday, killing at least 31 people and injuring dozens more, according to state media reports.

Reports said the truck, which blew up at a busy checkpoint on the outskirts of the city, was packed with around 1.5 tons of explosives and gas cylinders.

According to Reuters, "the pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack targeted an army checkpoint but most of the dead were civilians.

"Syria's 2-1/2-year-old conflict began as peaceful protests but has turned into civil war. More than 100,000 people have died, according to United Nations figures, in fighting that is now spread across most of the country.

"Rebels have been joined by hardline Islamists, some of them linked to al Qaeda, who have become increasingly powerful among opposition forces.

"According to the Observatory, the suicide bomber was from the Nusra Front, an al Qaeda affiliate that has frequently used suicide bombers to attack military and political targets.

"Rebels also used a car bomb a day earlier to attack a checkpoint on the outskirts of Damascus. Heavy clashes erupted after the blast and continued on Sunday.

"Rebels said they seized the first checkpoint and were now fighting to capture a second one down the road. The checkpoints, to the southeast of the capital, sit between the rebel-held suburb of Mleiha and the government-held suburb of Jaramana.

Syrian TV images showed firefighters putting out huge fires from a number of badly damaged cars and trucks.

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