ISLAMIC State (Isis) claimed responsibility for bombings yesterday that killed at least 20 and wounded 100 in the Syrian city of Homs.

The attack came as the Syrian army made fresh gains against Isis and other rebel forces and Russia rejected what it called Turkish “blackmail” over peace talks scheduled for Friday.

A car bomb and then a suicide bomber hit a security checkpoint in the Zahra district of Homs, home to many members of the Alawite Muslim sect considered heretical by Isis fundamentalists.