By Halit Suleyman and Ayse Aktas

AZAZ, (AA): At least 60 people were killed Saturday by a car bomb attack in Aleppo’s opposition-held Azaz district in northwestern Syria, according to a pro-opposition Syrian civil defense official.

An explosive-laden vehicle blew up in front of a local court in the center of Azaz, Iyad Sheikh Razuk told to Anadolu Agency.

The attack caused severe destruction in the area, Razuk added.

For his part, Doctor Abu Hasan who works at a local hospital in Azaz, also told Anadolu Agency that 60 people were killed and more than 50 civilians injured in the incident.

Late last month, Syrian opposition forces and the regime reached a cease-fire deal, brokered by Turkey and Russia, to evacuate civilians from eastern Aleppo to safe areas in opposition-held Idlib.

Syria has been locked in a devastating war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests – which erupted as part of the Arab Spring uprisings – with unexpected ferocity.

[Photo: Smoke rises from Azaz District’s courthouse after car-laden bomb attack in Aleppo, Syria on January 07, 2017. Photographer: Muhabiri Halit Suleyman/AA]