Deadly blast kills women and children in southern Syria, says rights group

An explosion hit a vehicle packed with passengers traveling in southern Syria overnight, killing at least 21 people, including four children, the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said Wednesday. It comes amid two days of heavy clashes between Kurdish fighters and Al-Qaeda-linked rebels in the northeast that have killed at least 41, according to activists. 

The blast hit the vehicle early Tuesday as it was driving near Tel al-Juma in Deraa province, SOHR said. Six women were also among the dead, it added. It was unclear what kind of vehicle was involved.

The deaths came as Muslims observed the holiday of Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, and underscored just how relentless the violence in Syria's civil war is. Since its outbreak in March 2011, the conflict has claimed the lives of more than 100,000 people, and forced some 7 million to flee their homes.

Syria's revolt began with largely peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad but later descended into civil war. Now in its third year, the conflict has carved the country up into rebel- and regime-controlled areas, with front-lines crisscrossing the country.

It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion, nor why a group of women and children were traveling in dangerous and disputed territory in the middle of the night.

SOHR said local activists accuse government troops, who are stationed at an army outpost in the area besieged by rebels, of planting explosives by the roadside. However, roadside bombs are frequently used by rebels to target highways traveled by regime forces.