Druze men protesting, flying flags

Killer car-bomb in Golan Heights

A suicide car-bomb ­killed at least nine people in Syria’s Golan Heights last night, only hours after government forces announced they had expelled the last Islamic State ­jihadists from the eastern city of Deir Ezzor.

State news agency SANA said the bomb hit the outskirts of the village of Hader, which lies near the disengagement line that ­divides the Syrian-controlled part of the Golan from that occupied by Israel.

“A suicide bomber from Al-Nusra Front detonated a car-bomb in the midst of the homes of citizens on the outskirts of Hader, killing nine people and injuring at least 23,” the agency said.

Al-Nusra Front is the old name for a jihadist group that was formerly al-Qa’ida’s affiliate in Syria and is now known as the Fateh al-Sham Front.

SANA said the toll was expected to rise because several of the ­injured were in serious condition and the ongoing assault on the town made it difficult to remove the wounded to safety.

The Israeli army issued a rare statement in support, pledging not to allow the village to be taken by attacking rebel forces.

 

Read the full article by AFP at The Australian (subscriber only).