Car bombing kills 19 in Syria's Azaz: monitor
Attack also wounds more than 20 people
Members of the Syrian Civil Defence (known as the White Helmets) carry a wounded man on a stretcher following a reported air strike on the town of Maaret al-Numan in the jihadist-held Idlib province on June 3, 2019. PHOTO:AFP
AZAZ, SYRIA:
At least 19 people were killed on Sunday in a car bomb near a bustling market and mosque in a rebel-held city in northwestern Syria, a war monitor said.
Four children were among those killed in the explosion in Azaz, in the heart of a Turkish zone of influence in Aleppo province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The attack also wounded more than 20 people, according to the Britain-based monitor.
"Many people were leaving evening prayers when the explosion happened," Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman told AFP.
'Huge explosion' in Syria capital causes fatalities: monitor
Shoppers buying clothes and gifts ahead of the upcoming Eidul Fitr holiday were among those killed, said Jihad Berro, a coroner at a local hospital.
He said the medical facility was crammed with victims and their relatives.
"The emergency rooms were full, we placed corpses on the floor," he said.
"It is a real catastrophe before the Eidul Fitr holiday," said Berro.
An AFP photographer saw a large crowd gathering at the scene of the attack, charred vehicles dotting the side of the road.
Rescue workers searched through mounds of rubble, looking for bodies, he said.
Car bomb blast kills eight in Syria's Homs: monitor
Resident Abu Youssef said the explosion torched the neighbourhood.
"The damage is severe: at least six stores were burned, the storefronts of dozens of other stores were blown out," he told AFP.
It was not clear who was behind the attack, which came a day after a similar explosion killed 10 people and wounded 20 in the northeastern city of Raqa.
Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016 and seized more than 2,000 square kilometres of northern Syria including Azaz, clearing the area of Islamic State militants while preventing any Kurdish advance in the region.
Ankara keeps Turkish troops and intelligence forces in the area, and still backs Syrian rebels serving as police officers.
At least 19 people were killed on Sunday in a car bomb near a bustling market and mosque in a rebel-held city in northwestern Syria, a war monitor said.
Four children were among those killed in the explosion in Azaz, in the heart of a Turkish zone of influence in Aleppo province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The attack also wounded more than 20 people, according to the Britain-based monitor.
"Many people were leaving evening prayers when the explosion happened," Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman told AFP.
'Huge explosion' in Syria capital causes fatalities: monitor
Shoppers buying clothes and gifts ahead of the upcoming Eidul Fitr holiday were among those killed, said Jihad Berro, a coroner at a local hospital.
He said the medical facility was crammed with victims and their relatives.
"The emergency rooms were full, we placed corpses on the floor," he said.
"It is a real catastrophe before the Eidul Fitr holiday," said Berro.
An AFP photographer saw a large crowd gathering at the scene of the attack, charred vehicles dotting the side of the road.
Rescue workers searched through mounds of rubble, looking for bodies, he said.
Car bomb blast kills eight in Syria's Homs: monitor
Resident Abu Youssef said the explosion torched the neighbourhood.
"The damage is severe: at least six stores were burned, the storefronts of dozens of other stores were blown out," he told AFP.
It was not clear who was behind the attack, which came a day after a similar explosion killed 10 people and wounded 20 in the northeastern city of Raqa.
Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016 and seized more than 2,000 square kilometres of northern Syria including Azaz, clearing the area of Islamic State militants while preventing any Kurdish advance in the region.
Ankara keeps Turkish troops and intelligence forces in the area, and still backs Syrian rebels serving as police officers.