An enormous car bomb blasted a border crossing between Syria and Turkey early Tuesday near a city where nearly 50,000 Syrian refugees live.
The explosion was at the Baba al-Hawa crossing, a well-known intersection for Syrians traveling to the city of Reyhanli on the Turkish side of the border.
Baba al-Hawa, which means “Gates of the Winds” in Arabic, is at end of a highway which runs from the Syrian city of Aleppo, a long-time front line in the battle between forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad and rebel groups trying to oust him.
"The objective is to destabilize security at the crossing," said Obam Aref, an opposition activist at the border. "The casualties are all civilians, from the people queuing to cross."
Activists said at least a dozen people were taken to nearby hospitals.
This is a breaking news story. Please come back for updates.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Related: