Dozens killed in Syrian rebel-held town truck bomb

A huge car bomb has killed at least 43 people - mostly civilians - in the rebel-held Syrian town of Azaz on the border with Turkey on Saturday.

Dozens were also wounded in the attack which struck in front of an Islamic courthouse where a market is located, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The group said the toll was likely to rise in the attack, which was the latest in a string of bombings to hit Azaz.

In November, 25 civilians and opposition fighters were killed in a car bomb attack on a rebel headquarters.

The rebels accused the Islamic State group of being behind that attack.

IS is present in Aleppo province and has sought to advance on Azaz in the past.

At least 17 people were killed in a car bomb attack on a rebel checkpoint, the Observatory said.

The blast comes as a fragile ceasefire is being observed across much of Syria.

The truce negotiated by regime ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey does not include the Islamic State group or former al-Qaeda affiliate Fatah al-Sham.

More than 310,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began with anti-regime protests in March 2011.