- Title: Fuel truck blast kills dozens in north Syrian border town
- Date: 7th January 2017
- Summary: AZAZ, SYRIA (JANUARY 7, 2017) (VIDEO OBTAINED BY REUTERS) PEOPLE AND BULLDOZER OUTSIDE BADLY DAMAGED BUILDING BULLDOZER REVERSING / PEOPLE STANDING ON RUBBLE RESCUE WORKERS VARIOUS OF BULLDOZER MOVING RUBBLE, PEOPLE WATCHING PEOPLE CLIMBING OVER RUBBLE OUTSIDE DAMAGED BUILDING PEOPLE SURROUNDING INJURED MAN, INJURED MAN ON STRETCHER BEING RUSHED TO AMBULANCE AMBULANCE DRIVING OFF WITH SIREN BLARING INJURED MAN BEING HELPED FROM DAMAGED BUILDING, PEOPLE THANKING GOD PEOPLE STANDING ON RUBBLE NEAR DAMAGED BUILDING, RESCUE WORKERS DIGGING BULLDOZER MOVING RUBBLE TWO RESCUE WORKERS, ONE WEARING A WHITE HELMET, USING PHONE AND TALKING DEBRIS AND TWISTED METAL FROM BADLY DAMAGED BUILDING PEOPLE AND RESCUE WORKERS STANDING ON RUBBLE NEAR WRECKED BUILDING BURNT OUT AND DAMAGED CARS, DEBRIS ON GROUND BURNT OUR CAR AND MANGLED BIKE ON GROUND (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AMBULANCE WORKER, HAMZA ALARID, SAYING: "A car bomb went off in the centre of the city near civilians, there are no fighters here, all of them are civilians, and until now there are about 40 dead and about 150 injured." FIRE ENGINE, DEBRIS, PEOPLE STANDING COVERED UP BODIES NEAR THE WALL OF A BUILDING VOLUNTEERS PUTTING COVERED UP BODY IN A BLACK BAG VOLUNTEERS MOVING BODY IN BLACK BAG NEXT TO OTHER BODIES IN BLACK BAGS BODIES IN BLACK BAGS LINED UP BY WALL, VOLUNTEERS MOVING BODY BODIES IN BLACK BAGS, VISIBLE FACE OF DEAD MAN (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AZAZ HOSPITAL WORKER, JOMAA RAHAL, SAYING: "A big number of dead have come to us, up until now more than 20 dead and a large number of injured, all from the terrorist bombing which happened." PEOPLE CHECKING BODIES UNDER BLANKETS LOOKING FOR RELATIVES COVERED UP BODIES ON SIDE OF THE ROAD
- Embargoed: 22nd January 2017 12:55
- Keywords: Azaz Syria bomb rebels fuel truck blast
- Location: AZAZ, SYRIA
- City: AZAZ, SYRIA
- Country: Syria
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA0015Y2YMH3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES
A fuel truck exploded in the busy centre of a rebel-held town near Syria's border with Turkey on Saturday (January 7), killing dozens of people and wounding dozens more, several sources said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 43 people, mostly civilians, were killed when the tanker blew up in front of a courthouse in the northern Syrian town of Azaz.
Dozens more had severe injuries, said the Observatory, which monitors the violence in the country.
In unsourced comments, Turkey's privately-owned Dogan news agency said a car bomb planted by Islamic State was responsible.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility from the militant group.
"A car bomb went off in the centre of the city near civilians, there are no fighters here, all of them are civilians, and until now there are about 40 dead and about 150 injured," ambulance worker Hamza Alarid said, speaking at the scene.
Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency cited a doctor in Azaz as saying at least 60 people had been killed and more than 50 wounded.
An Azaz resident who went to the local hospital told Reuters he had counted around 30 bodies laid out.
Syria's nearly six-year war has create a patchwork of areas of control across the country, and Azaz is a major stronghold of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA).
The FSA is an alliance of moderate rebel groups whose fighters have, with Turkish military support, pushed Islamic State militants out of the border area.
Saturday's explosion was heard across the border in the Turkish town of Kilis, Dogan said.
Anadolu said 23 wounded people had been taken by ambulance to Kilis hospital, one of whom subsequently died. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
