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Monday, Jan 28, 2013 10:45 AM UTC

Al-Qaida-linked group claims deadly Syria blast

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Al-Qaida-linked group claims deadly Syria blastIn this image taken from video obtained from the Sham News Network, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, a pair of what activists say are tanks from President Bashar Assad regime in sit in a street in the Daraya neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, just before one of them fires a shot Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. Troops battled rebels around Damascus in an effort to dislodge opposition fighters who have set up enclaves around the capital, including Daraya and Zabadani. (AP Photo/Sham News Network via AP video)(Credit: AP)

BEIRUT (AP) — An al-Qaida-linked group fighting alongside Syrian rebels has claimed responsibility for a suicide car bombing a week ago that reportedly killed dozens of President Bashar Assad’s loyalists.

A statement Monday from Jabhat al-Nusra says one of its suicide bombers detonated a car bomb at the headquarters of a pro-government militia in the central province of Hama.

Activists said at least 42 people, mostly pro-Assad militiamen, died in the blast last Monday in the town of Salamiya. The government did not say how many people were killed.

Al-Nusra is fighting alongside other rebels to topple Assad. The group has previously targeted government institutions with suicide bombers.

The U.S. says it’s linked to al-Qaida, and has declared the group a terrorist organization.

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