Five Killed in Car Bomb Blast on Syrian National Coalition Offices

At least five people have been killed and several more injured by a car bomb explosion in the rebel stronghold of Azaz in northern Syria, Reuters reports.

A spokesman for the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), the Assad regime’s political opponents and self-appointed “interim government,” said the attack targeted their headquarters in the rebel-held town near the Turkish border.

“A booby-trapped car exploded in front of a headquarters for the [interim] government,” said SNC spokesman Ahmad Ramadan. “It was a direct targeting of the government because the center includes departments of various ministries and local councils.”

Ramadan blamed the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) for the attack, which killed one SNC guard. No organization had yet claimed responsibility for the attack at the time of writing.

Trump and Putin Put Aside Differences in ‘Very Good’ Phone Call

Presidents Trump and Putin look to have de-escalated the tensions between their respective countries following the U.S. missile attack on a Syrian government airbase last month that prompted heavy criticism from the Kremlin, reports Bloomberg News.

According to a New York Times report, as well as agreeing to work with President Putin on achieving a cease-fire in Syria, President Trump said he would send a U.S. representative to the Russian-brokered Astana peace talks that began Wednesday.

A White House statement released Tuesday said the pair enjoyed a “very good” phone conversation in which they vowed to increase their efforts to combat terrorism and ramp up their cooperation in finding a solution to the Syrian crisis.

“President Trump and President Putin agreed that the suffering in Syria has gone on for far too long and that all parties must do all they can to end the violence,” said the statement. “The conversation was a very good one, and included the discussion of safe, or de-escalation, zones to achieve lasting peace for humanitarian and many other reasons.”

Syria Rebels Withdraw From Latest Round of Astana Peace Talks

The latest round of peace talks in Astana hit a setback as they resumed on Wednesday, with Syrian rebel groups announcing their temporary withdrawal, reports Agence France-Presse.

With plans for “safe zones” at the forefront of discussions in the fourth round of discussions, rebel groups have suspended their participation from the Kazakhstan talks in protest over the continued use of airstrikes in Syria.

“The rebel delegation is suspending the meetings because of the violent airstrikes on civilians. The suspension will continue until shelling stops across all Syria,” a rebel source in the Kazakh capital, Astana, told AFP.

The latest discussions, if successful, would see Russia, Iran and Turkey act as guarantors to Russia’s plan for a series of “de-escalation zones” in rebel-held areas across the country.

Recommended Reads:

• Reuters: Some 900 Jordanians Fight in Syria, Iraq; Recruitment Slumps
• The Guardian: Amid the Rubble, Aleppo Tries to Return to Normal Life
• IRIN News: Turkey-Kurd Feud Distracts From Islamic State Fight in Syria
• Deutsche Welle: Assad: Propped Up by Tehran and Moscow