Car bomb kills at least 70 in Rankus, Damascus countryside

 A car bomb killed at least 70 people and wounded dozens more on Friday when it exploded in Rankus, a town 30 km north of the Syrian capital Damascus, activists said.

 Activists in a nearby town said the blast occurred in front of a mosque soon after Friday prayers.  

 One of the activists told Reuters news agency that government forces began shelling the same area soon after the explosion occurred, causing at least one more death.