At least nine people have been killed and dozens more hurt by a car bomb in the Syrian government-held town of Jableh.<br /><br /> State media showed scores of mangled cars and shops damaged by the blast in a bustling commercial part of the town which lies in President Bashar al Assad’s minority Alawite sect’s heartland.<br /><br /> In May last year at least 150 people were killed and 200 others wounded when bombs hit the town and the Mediterranean coast city of Tartous that hosts Russian military bases. <br /><br /> Islamic State militants claimed the May attacks in a statement posted online saying the group had targeted “gatherings of Alawites”.<br /><br /> No group has so far claimed responsibility for the latest attack.<br />
