Twin explosions in Syria's Idlib kills 24: monitor
Updated 12:02, 19-Feb-2019
CGTN
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A double bomb attack in Syria's city of Idlib on Monday killed 24 people, including four children, a war monitor said, updating an earlier death toll of 15. 
The explosions are believed to have been carried out by two explosive-laden vehicles, which tore through the al-Qusor area in the central part of Idlib, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The UK-based watchdog group said the blasts come as part of the lawlessness in Idlib, which is controlled by the Hayyat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
The Observatory said the first bombing occurred when an explosive device tore through a car and the second came via a motorcycle. The second explosion hit when ambulances arrived at the spot to hospitalize the victims of the first explosion, said the Observatory.    
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which the observatory said also wounded at least 51.
The wreckage of a car and a damaged building after twin bombings hit Syria's jihadist-held city of Idlib, February 18, 2019. /VCG photo 

The wreckage of a car and a damaged building after twin bombings hit Syria's jihadist-held city of Idlib, February 18, 2019. /VCG photo 

Idlib Province, in Syria's northwest corner, is under the control of HTS, and has long been targeted by bombings and assassinations.
Alliance commanders say hundreds of people have been rounded up for suspected links to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's intelligence services or ISIL sleeper cells, who they blame for some of the bombings.
They say the wave of blasts in the densely populated region, a haven for tens of thousands of civilians who oppose to Assad's rule, aims to destabilize the last opposition bastion remaining after almost eight years of civil war.
Idlib is the last major rebel stronghold in Syria and the Syrian government stressed that it will restore it from the HTS, the umbrella group of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.
(With inputs from agencies)
(Cover: Damaged buildings are seen at the site after the consecutive bomb attacks with two bomb-laden vehicles in Idlib city center, Syria, February 18, 2019. /VCG Photo)