A suicide bomber attacked a government checkpoint in Syria killing at least 31 people and injuring dozens on Sunday, the New York Times reported.
The attack happened near the city of Hama after militants drove an explosives laden truck through the city, according to the state-run news agency SANA.
Local reports said the blast also hit a nearby gasoline truck, increasing the overall damage and death toll.
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based organization, blamed the attack on Jabhat al-Nusra -- an Al Qaeda-linked group -- while SANA claimed "terrorists," a term they use for rebel forces fight against President Bashar al-Assad's government, were responsible for the explosions.
Although the suicide bomber is believed to have targeted members of the military, most reported deaths were of civilians.
Reuters reported that a military checkpoint near Damascus was hit by rebels the day before, followed by heavy clashes. Many checkpoints sit between rebel-held areas and government-run regions.
"These checkpoints are the fortress between us and the next air force defense site," said a rebel named Nidal, speaking by Skype. "If we can destroy it we can liberate the base."
Doctors in Mouadamiya, a suburb west of the capital, said the death toll is increasing due to malnutrition -- on top of the killings resulting from the brutal civil war that began in 2011.
One fighter, who asked to remain anonymous, said government forces have halted transportation of food and supplies to Mouadamiya for two days now.
"That is where we used to get our food and flour. If it stays closed, we will be destroyed," he said.
Nabil Elaraby, secretary general of the Arab League, said that peace talks aimed at ending the civil war in Syria were scheduled for Nov. 23 though the international envoy for Syria said no date had been confirmed for the conference.
"I discussed the Syria file with Lakhdar Brahimi, and it was decided that the Geneva meeting would take place on Nov. 23 and arrangements are being made to prepare for this conference," Elaraby told reporters in Cairo after a meeting with Brahimi, the international envoy for Syria.
"Of course, there are many arrangements and many obstacles and difficulties that have to be overcome."
