Mine explosion injures several in Syria’s Aleppo

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least five people from one family were injured on Friday by an exploding mine in northern Syria, according to local sources. It is suspected that the explosive device was planted by Islamic State (ISIS) sleeper cells.

The incident took place in Tal Qarah village in the Shahba region of Aleppo province that houses hundreds of thousands of Kurds who were displaced from their nearby hometown of Afrin during the 2018 invasion by Turkey and its Syrian proxies.

“The improvised mine exploded near an IDP [internally displaced] family from Afrin Friday afternoon while they were going to harvest their olives,” Ibrahim Shekho, a Kurdish rights activist, told Rudaw. 

He said six people were injured, including a three-year-old child. 

The mine had been laid by ISIS members in the region, according to ANHA news agency, which is affiliated with the local Kurdish authorities. The outlet reported that five people aged between 20 and 50 and all from one family were injured. 

No group has claimed responsibility. 

ISIS seized control of swathes of Syrian and Iraqi territory in 2014. Despite being territorially defeated by 2019, the group continues to carry out hit-and-run attacks, targeting civilians and security forces.