© Iliya Pitalev/SputnikSyrian army artillery soldiers in Idlib province in northwestern Syria
Militants who were killed on the Syrian-Turkish border in a bus in the northern Idlib province were heading to Turkey for treatment after taking part in hostilities against government forces, a militia source told RIA Novosti on Monday.
On Sunday, the bus with militants was destroyed at the Atimah checkpoint in Idlib. Over 30 were killed and another 50 were wounded.
"According to our intelligence, the majority [in the bus] were from the Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki group and Falak al-Sham [both part of the militant union under Jabhat Fatah al Sham command] and others. All of them, as usual, were traveling to Turkey for treatment and rest under the standard rotation," the source said.
The source said that the bus was blown up at the checkpoint already on the Turkish side, adding that it was not a suicide bomber, the bus was either mined in advance or explosive device was planted on the road along the route of militants.
Comment: There is some conflict regarding the source of the blast. While the source for this article says the bus either had explosive planted in it or hit a mine on the road, Reuters carried a story of Islamic State claiming the bus carried a suicide bomber to attack members of U.S.-backed rebel groups.