Car bomb explodes near church in northeast Syria

QAMISHLI, Syria — A car bomb detonated near a church in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northeast Syria on Thursday wounding several people, an AFP journalist and state media say.

The metal gate of the church was slightly dented by the blast, but the building otherwise emerged intact, the correspondent says.

People gather at the scene of a car bomb explosion outside the Syriac Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary in a predominantly Christian neighborhood in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northeast Syria on July 11, 2019. (Gihad Darwish/AFP)

There is no immediate claim for the attack, which Syrian state television says wounded 11 people and damaged nearby cars.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, says only seven people were wounded, and that three among them were in critical condition.

Last month, a car bombing near Kurdish security offices in the same city wounded seven civilians, including a child, the Observatory said.

Syria’s Kurds have led the US-backed fight in the war-torn country against the Islamic State jihadist group, which continues to claim attacks despite its territorial defeat earlier this year.

— AFP