Car Bomb Hits Bab al-Salameh Border Crossing

Eyewitnesses say the notoriously dangerous Bab al-Salameh crossing on the Turkey-Syria border has been hit by a large explosion, believed to be a car bomb, killing more than a dozen people.

“It was a taxi that had crossed the Syrian border post and was parked on a main road, where cars and buses are lined up waiting to get across to Turkey,” one man told Beirut’s Daily Star newspaper. “The taxi detonated before it reached an inspection point.”

The paper says that “towns near Bab al-Salameh have seen sporadic clashes between the rebels fighting Assad and fighters from an al-Qaida splinter group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS).

“Abu Osama, a camp administrator, told AFP that the explosion happened behind his office and at least 20 tents were reduced to rubble. ‘Some of the bodies and tents melted from the explosion,’ he said. ‘We have had thousands of new refugees come to this area the past 20 days because of the barrel bombing in Aleppo.’”

U.N. Security Council to Vote on Syria Aid Resolution Saturday

The U.N. Security Council is set to vote on a resolution to increase humanitarian aid access in Syria. The vote will take place on Saturday, after Assad ally Russia said it needed more time, through it is unclear if the Russians and Chinese will support the draft.

Reuters reports that “the text includes demands for cross-border aid access and an end to shelling and aerial bombardment, including barrel bombs, and threatens ‘further steps’ in the event of non-compliance. These were among the main sticking points during almost two weeks of negotiations on the draft, said diplomats.

“Russia, supported by China, has shielded its ally Syria on the U.N. Security Council during the three-year-long civil war. They have vetoed three resolutions condemning Syria’s government and threatening it with possible sanctions.

“Western diplomats said a possible Friday vote by the 15-member council was pushed to Saturday after Russia said it needed more time.”

Iran Boosts Military Support to Bolster Assad

Reuters reports that Iran has increased its ground support of President Bashar al-Assad, providing elite teams to gather intelligence and train soldiers.

“This further backing from Tehran, along with deliveries of munitions and equipment from Moscow, is helping to keep Assad in power at a time when neither his own forces nor opposition fighters have a decisive edge on the battlefield,” the wire says.

“Assad’s forces have failed to capitalize fully on advances they made last summer with the help of Iran, his major backer in the region, and the Hezbollah fighters that Tehran backs and which have provided important battlefield support for Assad.

“But the Syrian leader has drawn comfort from the withdrawal of the threat of U.S. bombing raids following a deal under which he has agreed to give up his chemical weapons.

“Shi’te Iran has already spent billions of dollars propping up Assad in what has turned into a sectarian proxy war with Sunni Arab states.”

Syrian Rebels Sought to Bolster Coalition’s Case in Peace Talks

The New York Times reports from Geneva on rebels’ attempt to bolster the Syrian National Council’s standing with the international community. The fragmented moderate opposition has seen its influence decrease with the advent of the Islamic Front and the rise of extremist fighting groups.

“In a crowd of suits in the softly lighted lobby of the InterContinental Hotel here, the military men stood out, wearing leather jackets, overcoats and skeptical expressions,” writes Anne Barnard. “They represented the dominant surviving faction of the Free Syrian Army, the first active leaders of that military arm of the Western-backed exile coalition who attended peace talks earlier this month — a milestone, since many insurgents view the talks with the Syrian government as tantamount to treason.

“More important, they hoped also to represent the future for the coalition and its military allies, who are staking their case for more military support from the United States and others on fighters like them. The coalition is undertaking a major reorganization to bring it under an effective command, something that has been tried many times without success.

“The four men said they had come to prove that the coalition is not completely detached from forces on the ground — a major sticking point with the Syrian government, many fighters inside Syria, and the West, which has resisted giving the coalition advanced weapons for fear they would fall into the hands of extremist Islamic groups.”

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Al Monitor: Al Qaida Group Exploits ISIS Decline in Syria Economist: The Lessons of Geneva

Daily Star: Rockets From Syria Hit Outskirts of Baalbek Villages

BBC: UN Condemns Bomb Which Killed 18 Near Syria School