Explosion rocks Christian neighborhood in Syria’s Qamishli, injuring 12
QAMISHLI – Twelve people were injured on Thursday when a car bomb exploded near a church in a Syrian regime-held neighbourhood of Qamishli, northern Syria, according to Rudaw’s reporter at the scene.
The explosion occurred in the Christian-majority neighborhood of al-Wasta, Rudaw’s Viviyan Fatah said.
The blast caused significant material damage, but no fatalities were reported. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The city of Qamishli is located in Hasaka province in northern Syria and is under the control of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES). However, some neighborhoods remain under the control of the Syrian regime.
Earlier in the day, a motorcycle bomb was also detonated in downtown Hasaka. There were no casualties, according to the ANHA News Agency.
Also earlier on Thursday, at least eight civilians were killed and 35 others wounded when a bomb exploded on board an oil truck in Afrin, northwest Syria, according to Turkish state media agency Anadolu.
The Kurdish-majority district of Afrin was seized by Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies in early 2018. It has seen regular bombings since then – some claimed by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which was expelled by the Turkish offensive.
The Syrian civil war, which began in 2011 after the regime crackdown on Arab Spring-inspired protests, saw Damascus lose control of swathes of the country to armed opposition groups and later to the Islamic State (ISIS).
The war has claimed the lives of at least 300,000 Syrians and displaced millions.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has intensified efforts to take back these areas with the help of Iran and Russia. The north western province of Idlib remains in the hands of the jihadist Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Kurdish forces meanwhile control several northern and northeastern provinces.
Turkish observation posts in Idlib have come under mortar fire in recent weeks. Ankara blames the Syrian regime for the attacks.
The explosion occurred in the Christian-majority neighborhood of al-Wasta, Rudaw’s Viviyan Fatah said.
The blast caused significant material damage, but no fatalities were reported. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The city of Qamishli is located in Hasaka province in northern Syria and is under the control of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES). However, some neighborhoods remain under the control of the Syrian regime.
Earlier in the day, a motorcycle bomb was also detonated in downtown Hasaka. There were no casualties, according to the ANHA News Agency.
Also earlier on Thursday, at least eight civilians were killed and 35 others wounded when a bomb exploded on board an oil truck in Afrin, northwest Syria, according to Turkish state media agency Anadolu.
The Kurdish-majority district of Afrin was seized by Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies in early 2018. It has seen regular bombings since then – some claimed by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which was expelled by the Turkish offensive.
The Syrian civil war, which began in 2011 after the regime crackdown on Arab Spring-inspired protests, saw Damascus lose control of swathes of the country to armed opposition groups and later to the Islamic State (ISIS).
The war has claimed the lives of at least 300,000 Syrians and displaced millions.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has intensified efforts to take back these areas with the help of Iran and Russia. The north western province of Idlib remains in the hands of the jihadist Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Kurdish forces meanwhile control several northern and northeastern provinces.
Turkish observation posts in Idlib have come under mortar fire in recent weeks. Ankara blames the Syrian regime for the attacks.