The death toll of the powerful explosion that rocked Syria’s northeastern city of Qamishli on Wednesday rose to 52, a pro-government Syrian TV said.
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A huge truck bomb exploded near a Kurdish security forces headquarters on Wednesday (July 27) in the Syrian city of Qamishli in Hasaka province.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack.
The attack on Qamishli could be a reply to the US-backed Kurdish militia attacking Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in northern Syria, now staging an offensive to capture the IS-held town of Manbij, situated further to the east of Qamishli.
The dead include civilians and members of the security forces, it says.
In the aftermath of the explosion, distraught civilians, some covered in blood, staggered through rubble past twisted metal and the burned-out remains of cars.
ISIS has carried out a number of bombings in Qamishli, which is in Hasaka province, and in Hasaka city, the provincial capital. The Kurdish YPG militia, which has proved the most effective partner for a US-led coalition battling Islamic State, is also involved in fighting the extremists farther west, in Aleppo province. Many residential buildings were hit by the intense blast. The death toll expected to rise because of the number of people seriously injured, the Observatory said.
“Our new accounts of the wounded also reached more than 160 as numerous Kurdish police forces who were wounded were taken to various hospitals in the town for treatment”, he added.
It is not the first time the militant group has targeted the area.
According to eye-witnesses, the explosion of the blast was so loud that it was heard miles away, and it even damaged some distant buildings, The Associated Press reports.
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 holds some Syrian government troops but is primarily controlled by Kurdish forces, who intend to create an autonomous region in northern Syria, where they hold large amounts of land.
