Syria

The cause of the blast near the town of Sarmada, in Idlib province, was not immediately clear.

The Kurdish-led force lost most of its territory in northeast Syria to a government offensive in January and then signed the deal to merge with the army.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the move removes major barriers to private investment and Syria’s economic reintegration.

The remarks came after Israel carried out airstrikes on the Abu al-Duhur military airport in Syria's eastern Idlib province.

Damascus calls the strikes a “flagrant violation” of Syrian sovereignty, while Jordan condemns the attack and warns of further regional instability.

Even though he was never meant to be president of Syria, the nation was hopeful about its young successor but, instead it witnessed the downfall none was really ready for.

Assad, who was born in 1965, became president in 2000 after his father Hafez died.

Under the agreement, Syria will take control of the Hmeimem air base and the commercial berth at Tartus port as part of its civil administration.