NEWS BRIEF A truck bomb claimed by ISIS has killed almost 50 people in a predominately Kurdish city in northern Syria.
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At least 37 people were killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group based in Britain.
ISIL claimed the attack in a statement circulated on social media, calling it “a response to the crimes committed by the crusader coalition aircraft” in the town of Manbij, an ISIL stronghold in Syria’s Aleppo province.
The predominantly Kurdish US-backed Syria Democratic Forces have been the main force fighting Isis in northern Syria and have captured wide areas from the extremists. But, if suicide bombers are intercepted, they normally blow themselves up at the checkpoints, inflicting heavy loss of life among security forces and those waiting to pass through. In a later statement, it said the suicide bombing was in retaliation for the USA -led airstrikes in Manbij, threatening the Kurds specifically with more attacks.
The truck blast caused massive damage to the buildings near the center of the explosion, destroying a large number of private vehicles parked on the streets, witnesses say.
The Syrian state television reports at least, 171 people have been injured in the attack claimed by ISIS, yet the numbers may rise.
Kurdish fighters have been a key force battling the jihadis in north and northeastern Syria and are the main component in the Syrian Democratic Forces alliance now seeking to oust Islamic State from Manbij. More than 100 people have been wounded.
It wasn’t the first explosion to hit Qamishli, a predominantly-Kurdish city largely controlled by Kurdish militants.
“Most of the buildings at the scene of the explosion have been heavily damaged because of the strength of the blast”, he added.
The assault against ISIS in the city of Manbij has put it under pressure, cutting off all routes out of the city.
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Qamishli is under the joint control of president Bashar al-Assad’s forces and the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which in April agreed to a ceasefire following days of deadly fighting for control of the city.
