At least 68 killed in bombings near town recaptured from Islamic State

Two car bomb attacks near the northern Syrian town of al Bab have killed at least 68 people.

The blasts came as the town was liberated from Islamic State by Turkish forces and Syrian opposition fighters.

Islamic State militants have withdrawn from al Bab, but retain control of areas surrounding it.

The first blast struck outside a security office the village of Sousian, five miles northeast of al Bab, killing at least 60 people, including civilians waiting to get permits to return home to al Bab.

At least six Syrian fighters were also among the dead, according to Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.

The second car bomb left at least eight dead in Sousian, according to Syrian opposition activists.

Mohammed al Tawil, a leading Syrian opposition fighter, told the Associated Press: "These people have suffered a lot."

"They have been waiting for this moment [to return home]."

Meanwhile, a separate attack near IS-controlled Tadif, south of al Bab killed two Turkish soldiers, according to Mr Yildirim.

The Turkish military said the two soldiers were killed by an improvised explosive device.

However, Mr Yildirim described it as a "suicide attack" which struck the soldiers during a road patrol. Three other soldiers were injured in the explosion.

Seventy-one Turkish soldiers have been killed in northern Syria since August, according to AFP.