Over a dozen ISIL militants killed in bomb blast

According to the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the incident occurred as a bomber detonated his explosive vest on a bus near to the entrance of the Atmeh refugee camp in the province of Idlib, close to the border with Turkey.

A local activist claimed that 40 people were killed in the blast which went off near a militant base that is used to store arms smuggled in from across the border.

The province is a major base of foreign-backed militants trying to oust the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. It is also adjacent to Aleppo, where fierce clashes are underway between government forces and militants.

Earlier, one civilian was killed and three more were injured by militant rocket fire on residential areas in Aleppo, which has been divided between government forces in the west and the militants in the east since 2012.

Elsewhere, Russian jets launched airstrikes on Daesh positions near the eastern Syrian city of Dayr al-Zawr, inflicting heavy damage on the Takfiri terrorist group.

The Takfiri militants operating in the Middle Eastern state have suffered major setbacks over the past few months as the Syrian army has managed to liberate several areas.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict. The UN has stopped officially counting the death toll for Syria.

KD