Bomb attack on Syrian Islamist rebel group kills 14 - Observatory

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A bomb attack killed at least 14 Syrian insurgents at a headquarters for the powerful Islamist Ahrar al-Sham group on Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said. Two blasts hit the base in a village east of Saraqeb in Idlib province, the British-based Observatory reported. Ahrar al-Sham said in a statement a lone attacker had driven a motorbike up to the building, detonating explosives attached to himself and a bomb on the bike at the same time, killing and wounding dozens of rebels. It blamed Islamic State for the attack. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Photos on social media showed bloodied corpses and a blackened motorbike outside a small building in the village. The pictures could not immediately be verified. Idlib is a rebel stronghold, but some insurgent factions have fought among themselves this year, including in clashes that pitted groups aligned with Ahrar al-Sham against groups that joined the al Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance. Syrian government forces have taken advantage of rebel infighting, particularly a separate spat further south near Damascus, to recapture territory from insurgents in the six-year conflict. Islamic State is opposed to all sides in the conflict, including Syrian insurgent groups. (Reporting by John Davison; Editing by Tom Heneghan)