“A woman and a child were killed” and five others were wounded, including two members of the National Defense forces, when a car exploded, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
Manbij Military Council called it a “terrorist bombing.”
Three women were among the wounded and taken to hospital for treatment, according to Hawar News Agency.
No group has immediately claimed responsibility.
Manbij was liberated from the Islamic State (ISIS) nearly five years ago by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), after which the locally-established Manbij Military Council assumed responsibility for security. Turkey threatened several times threatened to attack Manbij to force Kurdish forces out of the ethnically diverse city. In 2018, Ankara and Washington struck a deal that saw the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) leave and control handed over to local councils. Ankara claims that the Kurdish fighters are affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Manbij borders areas controlled by Turkish-backed Syrian militias.
Previous explosions and suicide attacks in Manbij have either been claimed by Islamic State (ISIS) or blamed on the group. ISIS continues to "operate across rural areas of Iraq and Syria as a well-entrenched, low-level insurgency," the Pentagon stated in its latest report on anti-ISIS operations.
