Deadly explosion hits FSA facility in Afrin - reports

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A car bomb explosion rocked a militia's headquarters in the Afrin sub-district of Rajo on Wednesday morning.

 

Three militiamen at the Ahrar al-Sharqiya compound were killed, according to Hawar News. 

 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that two IEDs had exploded. It is a UK-based monitoring group.

 

No group immediately claimed an attack.

 

Ahrar al-Shariqiya has been backed by Turkey and is part of the Free Syrian Army (FSA). It participated in Operation Olive Branch last year when the proxy forces ousted the ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD) from the Kurdish canton in northwestern Syria. PYD has ties to the news agency that reported the explosion. 

 

The Peoples' Protection Units (YPG) have vowed to fight a guerrilla war against who they consider to be "invaders." Northern Syria also has seen an uptick in attacks claimed by ISIS over the past week.

 

January 20 was the first anniversary of the start of the 58-day Turkish operation. Three people were killed in an explosion in Afrin on Sunday.

 

This is a developing story... Update: 2:53 p.m.