ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A string of explosions rocked northern Syria on Wednesday as rival powers compete for control over the Kurdish territory and Islamic State (ISIS) militants take advantage of instability.
At around 13:00 local time, a car bomb exploded in the city of Qamishli, the seat of the Kurdish-led autonomous administration. Rudaw’s Hunar Ahmed, reporting from the scene, said there were no casualties.
Apart from a few blocks that are held by the Syrian regime, the city remains under Kurdish control. Qamishli was excluded from Tuesday’s Russian-sponsored agreement to end Turkey’s military offensive in northern Syria.
About an hour and a half later, the North Press Agency, an outlet affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), reported an explosion in Suluk, a mostly Arab town located southeast of Gire Spi (Tel Abyad) and within the zone now under Turkish control.
Initial reports indicate there were several casualties.
Shortly after 15:00 local time, a third explosion was reported in al-Shadadi, south of Hasaka. A bomb exploded next to shops outside of a mosque in the city, according to Syria’s state media outlet SANA.
North Press Agency also reported the incident, claiming a motorcycle exploded, injuring several people.
Shadadi is under the control of the SDF.
No group has immediately claimed responsibility for any of the attacks.
ISIS channels on the messaging app Telegram did not make any statements about Wednesday’s bombings, but they say they attacked SDF forces travelling in a 4x4 vehicle on the road between Shadadi and Raqqa.
The militants have stepped up their attacks against the Kurdish forces in northern Syria in recent weeks. In last Thursday’s edition of their al-Naba magazine, ISIS gloated about the end of the SDF after it was “betrayed by the Crusaders” – referring to the Americans.
US President Donald Trump withdrew American troops from northern Syria to make way for Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring, launched on October 9.
Washington brokered a pause in the operation last week. On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russia’s Vladimir Putin made a separate deal concerning control of the Syria-Turkey border.
That agreement dictates the SDF pull back 30 kilometers from the border within six days. Joint Russian-Turkish patrols will control the border with a depth of 10 kilometers into northern Syria, with the exception of Qamishli.
The SDF, which was not a party to the talks, has said it is reviewing the deal but not yet commented further.
At least 200,000 civilians have been displaced from their homes by of Turkey’s incursion, according to the Kurdish Red Crescent.
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