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Dozens dead in Syria bomb blast Dozens dead in Syria bomb blast
(35 minutes later)
A huge car bomb has exploded in a crowd in a predominantly Kurdish town in north-eastern Syria, killing at least 44 people and wounding dozens more, according to Syrian state media. A twin bombing has struck a crowd in a predominantly Kurdish town in northern Syria, killing 44 people and wounding dozens more, Syria’s state-run news agency and Kurdish media have reported. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.
The official Sana news agency said the vehicle blew up on the western edge of Qamishli, near the Turkish border. Qamishli is controlled mainly by Kurds but Syrian government forces control the town’s airport. Media reports said a truck loaded with explosives had blown up on the western edge of the town of Qamishli, followed by an explosives-packed motorcycle a few minutes later in the same area. The blasts caused massive damage in the area and rescue teams were working to recover victims from under the rubble, the Sana news agency said.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for what it said was a truck bombing that struck a complex of Kurdish offices in Qamishli. The extremist group has carried out several bombings in Kurdish areas in Syria in the past. Qamishli, near the Turkish border, is mainly controlled by Kurds but Syrian government forces are present and control the town’s airport.
The predominantly Kurdish US-backed Syria Democratic Forces have been the main force fighting Isis in northern Syria, capturing significant territory from the extremists over the past two years. Syrian state TV showed footage of people running away from a mushroom of grey smoke rising over the town and others running amid wrecked or burnt cars.The Qamishli resident Suleiman Youssef, a writer, said he had heard the first explosion from a few miles away. He said the blasts had levelled several buildings to the ground and many people were trapped under the rubble.
Wednesday’s explosion came as US-backed Kurdish forces pressed ahead with their offensive on the Isis-held town of Manbij in northern Syria, further east. “Most of the buildings at the scene of the explosion have been heavily damaged because of the strength of the blast,” he said.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the explosion targeted a centre of the local Kurdish police and a nearby government building. Isis said it had carried out the attack in Qamishli, describing it as a truck bombing that had struck a complex of Kurdish offices. The extremist group has carried out several bombings in Kurdish areas in Syria in the past.
The predominantly Kurdish, US-backed Syria Democratic Forces have been the main force fighting Isis in northern Syria, capturing significant territory from the extremists over the past two years.
Wednesday’s explosion came as US-backed Kurdish forces pressed ahead with their offensive to take the Isis-held town of Manbij, also in northern Syria but to the east of Qamishli.