ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least one was killed and a further injured when a powerful explosion struck the headquarters of the Turkish-backed Syrian Front for Liberation on Saturday, reported media outlets.
An explosion hit the headquarters of Turkish-backed forces in Jindires district in Afrin, Hawar News Agency (ANHA) reported.
North Press Agency (NPA) also confirmed the news, saying two members of the al-Mu'tasem faction, linked with the Syrian Front for Liberation were killed when an IED explosion detonated in the area. Significant material damages were also reported.
Afrin is a Kurdish-majority region located in northwestern Syria. It has seen many deadly bombings since the invasion of Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies in 2018, expelling the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and forcefully displacing much of the population, committing what the United Nations describes as possible war crimes.
The Kurdish population fell by more than 60 percent in only the first two years of the invasion, according to the Afrin-based Human Rights Organization.
"According to the latest statistics that we have received, the size of the indigenous population of Kurds in the Afrin region reached 34.8 percent in January, while they previously made up 97 percent of the population," read a statement from the organization published in April 2020.
Turkey usually blames the YPG, a part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), for deadly attacks in Afrin, but the group repeatedly denies targeting civilians.
Ankara considers the SDF a branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an armed group struggling for greater political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey, and labels them a threat to its national security.
