Explosion hits Kurdish-held Syrian town on Turkish border

TAL ABYAD, Syrian Kurdistan (Kurdistan24) – On Wednesday morning, six civilians were killed and dozens wounded in a car bomb attack in the Kurdish-controlled town of Tal Abyad (known as Gire Spi in Kurdish).

Kurdish security forces told Kurdistan24 that a car bomb infiltrated the town and detonated in the main street near a public center belonging to the People’s Protection Units (YPG).

“Six civilians were killed, 12 others were wounded in the blast, about 10 are in critical condition,” a surgeon at Tal Abyad hospital told Kurdistan24.

“We sent some of the wounded to other hospitals in Rojava or Turkey because our facility is not well equipped and lacks a lot of medical supplies,” the surgeon added.

In a separate attack on Tuesday in a village called Hashisha (some 35 km/21 miles east of Tal Abyad), Turkish border guards shot a group of civilians who were trying to cross, wounding 15.

An eyewitness who spoke to Kurdistan24 on condition of anonymity said that the wounded were transported to Tal Abyad hospital and other hospitals in Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan).

Additionally, Syria-based Kurdish Hawar News Agency (ANHA) provided further details on the injured.

“Six of the wounded, including a child and a woman, were transported to Tal Abyad hospital, and the other six, including two women and a child, were transported to a hospital in Ras Al-Ain (known as Serê Kani in Kurdish),” ANHA reported.

On June 16, 2015, YPG, backed by Syrian rebel allies and coalition airstrikes, seized Gire Spi and surrounding villages. 

Gire Spi is located 102 kilometers (63 miles) east of Kobani on Syria's border with Turkey. 

On June 30, 2015, Islamic State (IS) fighters re-entered the town’s countryside, seizing a sub-district from Kurdish forces.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
(Redwan Bezar contributed to this report from Tal Abyad)