wed mar 2 2016 18 militants killed in car bomb blast in syrias quneitra. at least 18 militants including a commander have been killed in a car bomb explosion in syrias southern province of quneitra. the so-called syrian observatory for human rights said the car bomb went off in the village of asheh in quneitra wednesday afternoon. but a quneitra-based opposition activist identified as abu omar al-golani said the blast killed 20 militants including capt. abu hamza al-naimi the commander of the syria revolutionaries front an offshoot of the so-called free syrian army. golani further said the blast occurred when several commanders were meeting at the groups office in asheh. no one has so far claimed responsibility for the blast but suhaib al-ruhail a spokesman for the alwiyat al-furqan militant group which operates in the area said "daesh sleeper cells were most likely behind the attack. the syria revolutionaries front was largely crushed in northern syria in late 2014 by al-qaeda-linked al-nusra front terrorist group. syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since march 2011. according to a february report by the syrian center for policy research the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470000 people injured 1.9 million others and displaced nearly half of the countrys pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders. damascus accuses saudi arabia turkey and qatar of funding and arming anti-syria terrorist groups including the daesh takfiri group; press tv reported. ssh 11
18 militants killed in car bomb blast in syrias quneitra