Suicide bomber kills 11 in northeast Syria
10 of the dead were members of the Kurdish security forces and one was a civilian
PHOTO: REUTERS
BEIRUT:
A suicide bomber killed at least 11 people in an attack Wednesday on Kurdish security forces in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli, a monitoring group said.
"A suicide bomber in a vehicle targeted the Asayish's local headquarters in Qamishli," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
He said 10 of the dead were members of Asayish, the Kurdish security forces, and one was a civilian.
"It was a massive explosion. There are at least 14 civilians that have been wounded," Abdel Rahman said.
He said Kurdish security forces had cordoned off the area in the industrial district of Qamishli, a majority-Kurdish city in Syria's northeast Hasakeh province.
Syria's state news agency SANA put the toll at 13, without specifying whether the dead included civilians, adding 50 people had been wounded.
Arin Shekhmos, a local journalist in Qamishli, said the blast could be heard throughout the city.
"I wasn't close, but I could hear it from where I was," Shekhmos told AFP by telephone shortly after visiting the blast site.
"There is a lot of destruction -- the buildings on at least two streets have been completely destroyed," he said.
Qamishli, under the shared control of Kurdish authorities and the Syrian regime, has been targeted by several bomb attacks this year. In late July, bombs struck the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Asayish, wounding at least three people.
Syrian Kurdish militia have been some of the most successful forces fighting the Islamic State group, which has seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq.
A suicide bomber killed at least 11 people in an attack Wednesday on Kurdish security forces in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli, a monitoring group said.
"A suicide bomber in a vehicle targeted the Asayish's local headquarters in Qamishli," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
He said 10 of the dead were members of Asayish, the Kurdish security forces, and one was a civilian.
"It was a massive explosion. There are at least 14 civilians that have been wounded," Abdel Rahman said.
He said Kurdish security forces had cordoned off the area in the industrial district of Qamishli, a majority-Kurdish city in Syria's northeast Hasakeh province.
Syria's state news agency SANA put the toll at 13, without specifying whether the dead included civilians, adding 50 people had been wounded.
Arin Shekhmos, a local journalist in Qamishli, said the blast could be heard throughout the city.
"I wasn't close, but I could hear it from where I was," Shekhmos told AFP by telephone shortly after visiting the blast site.
"There is a lot of destruction -- the buildings on at least two streets have been completely destroyed," he said.
Qamishli, under the shared control of Kurdish authorities and the Syrian regime, has been targeted by several bomb attacks this year. In late July, bombs struck the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Asayish, wounding at least three people.
Syrian Kurdish militia have been some of the most successful forces fighting the Islamic State group, which has seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq.