Bomb kills 27 in Syria

DAMASCUS: A car bomb killed at least 27 people in a rebel-held area of northwestern Syria on Monday as suspected jihadists freed four out of seven aid workers kidnapped in the increasingly volatile region.

The bombing and Sunday's kidnapping -- both carried out in Idlib province, where rebels hold vast swaths of territory -- underscored the descent into chaos in several rebel-held areas, which have seen a recent spate of internal clashes, kidnappings and other attacks.

The United States meanwhile stepped up its calls for a peace conference between President Bashar al-Assad's regime and the increasingly divided rebels, talks rejected by a leading faction of the Western-backed opposition.

The blast in the town of Darkush killed at least three children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, adding that the death toll could rise because many of the wounded were in serious condition.

Activists said the blast targeted the market area of the town, which is a few kilometres (a couple of miles) from the border with Turkey, on the Orontes river.

Four of the kidnapped aid workers were meanwhile freed "safe and sound" on Monday, Red Cross spokesman Ewan Watson told AFP, adding that the group was awaiting further information about the others.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights said the six members of the International Committee of the Red Cross and a member of the Syrian Red Crescent were kidnapped by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), an Al-Qaeda-linked rebel group.

The ICRC has not commented on the nationality of those abducted, though it had earlier said that most of the group were Syrian. There has been no claim of responsibility. Rebels control large swathes of Idlib, and kidnappings have become increasingly common in rebel-held parts of Syria, targeting both journalists and aid workers.

The Red Cross, a rare aid group working on both sides of the conflict, said the team had travelled to Idlib on October 10 to assess the situation at health facilities and deliver aid.

"We don't have any intention of stopping our activities in Syria, but of course this situation makes us reflect and take a close look at our operations," Watson had earlier told Swiss radio.