What is "nubl"

Nubl (, also spelled Nubbul or Nubbol) is a small city in northern Syria, administratively part of the Aleppo Governorate, located northwest of Aleppo. Nearby localities include al-Zahraa immediately to the south, Anadan to the southeast, Tel Rifaat to the northeast, Aqiba to the north, Barad to the west, and Mayer immediately to the east. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Nubl had a population of 21,039 in the 2004 census. Its inhabitants are predominantly Shia Muslims and together with nearby al-Zahraa, Nubl forms a small Shia-inhabited pocket in a mostly Sunni Muslim area in the Aleppo Governorate.