As many as 30 people were killed and dozens wounded when the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL), a breakaway al-Qaida group, blew up a market in Syria's eastern Deir al-Zour province on Saturday, the official Syrian TV reported.
The blast targeted a marketplace in the rebel-held al-Mayadeen city in the oil-rich Deir al-Zour province, where intense battles are taking place between rival rebel groups, namely the ISIL and the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.
Reports emerging from the site are still murky as some reports said the blast had targeted a market for selling weapons while others said it was a market for selling sheep.
Both radical groups are fighting for the province, where most of the Syrian oil plants are located. Al-Mayadeen city is located near the borders with Iraq, where the ISIL are fighting against the Iraqi government forces to achieve their dream in establishing their vision of an Islamic state that could combine areas in Iraq and eastern Syria.
At least 600 people were killed and 130,000 others were displaced since the end of last month as a result of the infighting between the two rival armed groups in Deir al-Zour, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
As ferocious battles in Deir al-Zour between ISIL and the Nusra Front continue, many of the city's residents have fled to areas in northern Syria, according to a report by the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV.
According to the UN, over 100,000 people have been killed and an estimated 9 million others driven from their homes since opposition protesters first sought to oust President Bashar al- Assad and his government in March 2011.