According to the Syrian presidency, at least 20 people have been killed and many others have been injured in a car bomb near Manbij in northern Syria.
The country’s deadliest attack occurred on Monday, one year after Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December of last year.
The incident also happened in the area, where there have been clashes between Kurdish-dominated forces and a seventh car bombing in just over a month.
The office of Syria’s new President Ahmed al-Sharaa condemned the “terrorist” attack, saying that it will pursue accountability for the incident.
The presidency declared that “this crime will not pass without the strongest punishment for its perpetrators, making them an example for anyone who thinks compromising Syria’s security or harming its people.”
Hospital staff members reported the car to the Associated Press on Monday, according to reports from the news agency. It exploded next to a vehicle that was mostly occupied by agricultural workers at night.
The Syrian Civil Defence, known as the White Helmets, said at least 11 women and three children were killed in the attack.
“Everyone of these victims had families and dreams”, the rescue group said in a statement. Their “prolonged quest for a living” led to wounds and death. Justice for them must be achieved, and the perpetrators of this crime must be held accountable”.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the explosion.
On Saturday, a car bombing in the city also killed four people and wounded nine others, state news agency SANA reported.
Jameel al-Sayyed, a Manbij activist and journalist, told the Associated Press that the recurring attacks have forced residents to become more vigilant.
According to al-Sayyed, “the people of Manbij are making efforts to protect some neighbourhoods as well as set up surveillance cameras in the main neighbourhoods of the city.”
Control over Manbij, which is located south of the Turkish border and east of Aleppo, has repeatedly changed throughout the Syrian conflict, which started in 2011.
In December, Turkish-backed groups captured it from the US-backed, Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which denounced Monday’s bombing.
The SDF suggested – without evidence – that what it called Turkiye’s “mercenaries” are behind the attack.
Turkiye, a NATO ally of the US, views the SDF as an extension of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Kurdistan Workers ‘ Party (PKK), which it considers “terrorist” groups.
Later this week, Al-Sharaa, a former rebel leader who took over the presidency earlier this month on a transitional basis, is scheduled to visit Turkiye.
Source: Aljazeera
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