25 Members of 'Jabhat al-Nusra' Killed in Mosque Explosion in Syria

According to Syrian observers, 25 members of the 'Jabhat al-Nusra' group, including one of its leaders, which is a branch of Al-Qaeda in the country, were killed during an explosion that occurred in a mosque. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that this explosion took place on Friday evening, July 12, when members of this group had gathered for prayer and iftar in the mosque. The London-based monitoring group, which is linked to a network of news sources in Syria, stated that the death toll may rise, and that during this explosion in the city of Ariha, a number of civilians were also killed and injured at the time of iftar. The cause of the explosion in the mosque is still unclear. It has been reported that hundreds of people were present during the iftar ceremony attended by members of 'Jabhat al-Nusra'. Ariha is located in Idlib province, where the Al-Qaeda branch and a group of other Islamists have made significant advances. This group had captured the city of Idlib, the provincial capital, last April. Currently, a large part of this province is under the control of this extremist group. The Syrian civil war has resulted in over 230,000 deaths and is now in its fifth year. Large sections of the country are controlled by Islamist groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra and the self-proclaimed Islamic State. Forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad, the head of the government in Damascus, also control parts of Syria.