Blast Kills 10 Extremists at Syria Training Camp

HTS members supporters celebrate the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan. (AFP file photo)
HTS members supporters celebrate the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan. (AFP file photo)
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Blast Kills 10 Extremists at Syria Training Camp

HTS members supporters celebrate the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan. (AFP file photo)
HTS members supporters celebrate the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan. (AFP file photo)

An explosion at a training camp for extremist fighters in opposition-held northwest Syria killed at least 10 people and injured a dozen other recruits, residents and opposition sources said.

The explosion took place while dozens of fighters from the Hyat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group were attending a training session on artillery and mortars in the camp near the town of Hasano, in northern Idlib province, two military opposition sources told Reuters.

"There was a mistake which led to an explosion during a training session on mortars," said Mohamad Rasheed, an opposition activist familiar with the details of the incident.

HTS is an extremist group that controls parts of Syria´s northwest, an opposition-held area still at war with Damascus. Formerly known as the Nusra Front, it has been designated a terrorist group by the United States, Turkey and others.



Biden Calls Israeli Strike that killed Nasrallah a ‘Measure of Justice’

Rubble of damaged buildings lies at the site of Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ali Alloush
Rubble of damaged buildings lies at the site of Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ali Alloush
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Biden Calls Israeli Strike that killed Nasrallah a ‘Measure of Justice’

Rubble of damaged buildings lies at the site of Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ali Alloush
Rubble of damaged buildings lies at the site of Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ali Alloush

US President Joe Biden on Saturday called the Israeli strike that killed Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah a “measure of justice.”

The comments came after Hezbollah confirmed earlier Saturday that Nasrallah, one of the group’s founders, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut the previous day.

Biden noted that the operation to take out Nasrallah took place in the broader context of the conflict that began with Hamas’ attack on Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023.

“Nasrallah, the next day, made the fateful decision to join hands with Hamas and open what he called a ‘northern front’ against Israel,” Biden said in a statement.

He also noted that Hezbollah under Nasrallah’s watch has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans.

The State Department on Saturday ordered the departure of the families of US diplomats who are not employed by the embassy in Beirut. It also authorized the departure of those who are, as well as nonessential employees because of “the volatile and unpredictable security situation” in Lebanon’s capital.

The State Department has previously advised American citizens to consider leaving Lebanon and reiterated its warning against all travel to the country.

“Due to the increased volatility following airstrikes within Beirut and the volatile and unpredictable security situation throughout Lebanon, the US Embassy urges US citizens to depart Lebanon while commercial options still remain available,” the department said in a statement Saturday.

The State Department routinely orders or authorizes the departure of nonessential embassy staffers and the families of diplomats when security conditions in the country where they are posted deteriorate.

An ordered departure is not technically an evacuation but does require those affected to leave. An authorized departure allows those affected to leave the country voluntarily at government expense.