Car bomb in Turkish-held part of Syria kills at least 8

A car bomb kills at least eight people in a vegetable market in a northern region of Syria held by Turkish-led forces.

Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency says another 14 people were wounded in the attack. It said the explosives were packed into a refrigerator truck.

Turkish-led forces captured Afrin from Syrian Kurdish fighters early last year. The area is controlled by Syrian fighters allied with Turkey, who have been accused by rights groups of seizing land and property . The area sees sporadic attacks and other violence.

Syria’s state-run SANA news agency also reported the attack, saying nine people were killed and 20 wounded. It said the blast ignited a nearby patrol station and caused damage to surrounding homes and shops.

No one has claimed the attack.

Multiple casualties reported this morning in a car bomb attack in Afrin #Syria pic.twitter.com/mrNb9Y07ge

— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) October 31, 2019

Turkey launched another cross-border operation earlier this month, invading northeastern Syria to push out Syrian Kurdish fighters who had partnered with US forces against the Islamic State group. The invasion came after President Donald Trump ordered American forces to step aside.

Ankara views the Syrian Kurdish fighters as an extension of the decades-long Kurdish insurgency in southeastern Turkey.

— AP