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Death toll from blast in NW Syria reaches 43

16 May 2014 00:00 (UTC +04:00)

The blast, which claimed the lives of women and children among others, took place on Thursday after a bomber blew his explosive-laden car at a garage near the Bab al-Salameh border crossing on the outskirts of Aleppo.

According to reports, dozens of others suffered injuries in the attack.

Meanwhile, foreign-backed militants destroyed the tomb of Uwais al-Qarani in the city of Raqqa. Uwais al-Qarani was one of the loyal companions of the first Shia Imam, Imam Ali (PBUH).

The al-Qaeda-linked group, the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and other Takfiri militant groups have targeted many historical and religious sites in Syria over the past three years.

Also on Thursday in another move to fan the flames of violence in Syria, the representatives of 11 Arab and Western countries plus Turkey agreed to “ramp up” support for Takfiri militants in the Middle Eastern country.

“We've also agreed unanimously to take further steps together through a coordinated strategy to increase our support for...armed groups,” British Foreign Secretary William Hague said at the end of a meeting of the so-called Friends of Syria in London.

The so-called Friends of Syria group is made up of Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since March 2011. According to some reports, over 150,000 people have been killed and millions displaced due to the violence fueled by Western-backed militants.