ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A large explosion has hit a convoy of buses carrying mainly Shia villagers being evacuated from government-held towns near Aleppo.
Syrian Civil Defense teams, volunteer first responders known as the White Helmets, reported Saturday evening that they have recovered the bodies of more than 100 victims and have treated 55 injured.
Video from a local reporter on the scene shows multiple buses burned out and many bodies.
The conflict monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the explosion appeared to be a bomb.
A Hezbollah media outlet said a suicide attacker had detonated a car bomb, Reuters reported.
The villagers were being relocated as part of a deal to aid those living in areas under siege. Under the deal, the rebel-held towns of Madaya and Zabadani and two government-held towns of Foah and Kefraya would be evacuated, a total of about 30,000 besieged people.
According to AFP, about 5,000 of the government evacuees and 2,200 rebel evacuees were stranded. Rebel groups accuse Damascus of breaching the terms of the deal.
The Shia evacuees were meant to go to rebel-held territory in Idlib province, but had been waiting in the Rashidin area near Aleppo since Friday night.
The Syrian Red Crescent, who was delivering food and water, said there were 3,700 civilians among the bus passengers, according to AFP.
