The blast was initially described as a double bombing, but local officials and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said the bomb had also detonated a nearby fuel container, leading to reports of a second explosion.
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Qamishli, which is predominantly inhabited by Kurds, has been targeted by recent bombings, many claimed by Islamic State. The extremist group is fighting against the US -backed Kurdish YPG forces in the Hasaka and Aleppo provinces of Syria and has carried out a number of similar attacks in Kurdish areas before.
The attack targeted Kurdish security forces in a heavily guarded administrative part of the city. He said the blasts had levelled several buildings to the ground and many people were trapped under the rubble.
Minutes after the attack, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the blast near a Kurdish security headquarters in Hassakeh province.
Syrian state TV reported two bombs went off, while SANA news agency said a auto bomb was used in the attack.
On 31 May, the Kurdish-led Democratic Forces of Syria (DFS), backed by US-led airstrikes, launched a wide-scale offensive on the Minbij pocket, the extremists’ last territory on the Turkish border.
In Syria, 50 people have been killed and dozen wounded in a massive bombing in the Kurdish-controlled city of Qamishli.
The explosion was near a base for Kurdish security forces, who have been fighting the militant group.
Government forces effectively cut off rebel areas, which have held out for four years, after closing in on the strategic Castello Road, the main link to the eastern sector, earlier this month.
The terror group has claimed responsibility for a spate of terror attacks recently, including one that killed at least 21 people in Baghdad, Iraq, this week.
Syrian state TV showed footage of people running away from a mushroom of grey smoke rising over the town and others running amid wrecked or burnt cars.
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More than 280,000 people have been killed in Syria since the war began with anti-government protests that were met with a regime crackdown.
