AFRIN (Dispatches) – A car bombing in the northern Syrian city of Afrin on Monday killed six people, including at least one Turkey-backed militant, a war monitor said.
An AFP video journalist saw civil defense members douse the charred remains of a car with water, as rescue workers carried away what appeared to be a victim’s remains under a blanket on a stretcher.
Afrin, like all Syrian areas held by pro-Turkish militants, is the scene of regular targeted killings, bombings and shootings that largely remain unclaimed.
On Monday, an explosives-laden vehicle detonated in “an area crowded with civilians” in the centre of the city, said the Britain-based so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The explosion hit near a market and military outpost for the so-called Jaysh al-Islam terrorist group, according to the Observatory.
At least two civilians and one terrorist were among those killed, while 12 other people were wounded, it said.
“Hospitals in Afrin received charred corpses of unidentified persons,” it added.
According to the Observatory, a local police force in Afrin arrested two young men suspected of involvement.
Last month, Afrin was hit by four separate attacks using explosive devices, including one targeting the vehicle of a terrorist commander.
Turkey and its proxies have seized territory inside Syria in several military invasions since 2016. The Syria government has strongly condemned Ankara for violating its sovereignty.