Car bomb kills three in Kurdish city of Afrin in northern Syria 

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Three people were reportedly killed when a car bomb exploded in the Kurdish city of Afrin in the northern countryside of Syria’s Aleppo province.

A source told Kurdistan 24 that the explosive-laden vehicle blew up at the entrance of the city. According to early reports, three people were killed in the blast, including a child, and several others were injured.

North Press reported that the explosion took place near Kawa Roundabout on Azaz road.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the bombing. But Turkey quickly blamed the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which has in the past denied any responsibility for bombings in Afrin that have killed civilians.

Turkish-backed factions have controlled Afrin since March 2018 when the Turkish army launched a cross-border offensive to target the YPG, which, at the time, had been administering the area since 2012. The operation killed scores of civilians and forced hundreds of thousands of Kurds to flee their homes.

Since then, Afrin has been plagued by regular attacks on groups aligned with Turkey and indiscriminate bombings that have also killed civilians. In addition, the area sees frequent infighting between rival factions that also lead to civilian deaths.

On June 15, a car bomb in the Turkish-occupied Afrin killed two people and injured four others. 

Editing by Khrush Najari