Blast and subsequent clashes kill 16 soldiers near Damascus

AFP , Saturday 19 Oct 2013

A suicide bombing targeting a key checkpoint between rebel-held and pro-regime areas outside of Damascus leaves at least 16 soldiers dead

At least 16 soldiers were killed in a car bomb attack and fighting that followed between Syrian government forces and Islamist rebels near Damascus on Saturday, a monitoring group said.

The bombing, carried out by a suicide bomber from the jihadist Al-Nusra Front, triggered heavy fighting at a key checkpoint between the rebel-held towns of Mleha and Jaramana, a pro-regime area populated by Christians and Muslim Druze, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

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