Death toll in northwest Syria blast climbs to 28 — monitor

BEIRUT, Lebanon — At least 28 people, including civilians and extremist fighters, were killed in a car bombing in the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib, a monitor said on Sunday in a new toll. 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said those killed in Saturday's blast included at least five civilians and 10 members of the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham militant group, which is led by Syria's former Al Qaeda branch.

Eight people accused of belonging to Daesh were also among the dead, while five other bodies have not yet been identified, the Britain-based observatory said. 

The monitor had given an earlier toll of nine people killed.

Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said the car bombing targeted a tribunal in Idlib set up by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham where alleged Daesh members were detained.

In recent months, several explosions have rocked Idlib province, which has witnessed infighting between competing militant groups opposed to President Bashar Al Assad.

Syria's war has killed more than 350,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with a brutal crackdown on anti-government demonstrations.