3 civilians killed in explosion in northern Aleppo

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Three civilians were killed and eight others injured in an explosion in a commune building in the Kurdish-controlled al-Hadath village in northern Aleppo on Wednesday, the UK-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.

The village is located in the Shahba Canton, jointly controlled by Kurdish-led forces and Syrian government troops. Russian troops also have a presence there. 

The area hosts thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who had fled Turkey’s 2018 invasion and occupation of the nearby Kurdish Afrin enclave. 

The SOHR report said the huge explosion “led to the complete collapse of the building and killed at least three civilians, including two women, and injured eight others, some of whom sustained serious injuries.” 

“The victims have been taken to Afrin Hospital in Fafin town in the northern countryside of Aleppo,” the report added. 

Preliminary information indicates a gas cylinder caused the explosion. The Syria-based Hawar News Agency (ANHA) reported that investigations are still ongoing.

ANHA reported that at least two civilians were killed and eight others injured.

Shahba Canton is located in Tel Rifaat in the northern part of Aleppo province. It was an area previously controlled by ISIS before Syrian Kurdish forces liberated it in 2016.

Local officials from the Kurdish-led self-administration established a displacement camp there, known as Serdem Camp, on Mar. 29, 2018, shortly after Turkey and its militia proxies invaded Afrin and displaced thousands of civilians. 

Shahbha has been subjected to heavy shelling by Turkish-backed groups over the years. Furthermore, the area and its inhabitants have been cut off from humanitarian aid by both Turkish-backed forces and the Syrian government.