ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A car bomb exploded Thursday afternoon in the northern town of Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain), killing at least one civilian and injuring one other. A rights group reported a second explosion in the town – recently taken from Kurdish forces by Turkey and its Syrian proxies.
Turkey’s state-owned Anadolu Agency (AA) said one civilian was killed and another injured in the attack, which it blamed on the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG). The YPG lost control of the Kurdish-majority city to Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies in October.
The pro-Turkey umbrella of militias known as the Syrian National Army (SNA) has launched an investigation to determine who was responsible, AA added.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that just minutes after the first car bombing, another car exploded. The number of casualties in this second alleged blast is unknown.
Syrian state media outlet SANA said the first explosion took place in Kournich Street where the car was parked.
Located in north of Hasaka province, the town of Sari Kani saw fierce clashes during the Turkish invasion, which began on October 9 and continues despite two ceasefire deals with the US and Russia.
Turkey was able to invade both Sari Kani and Gire Spi (Tal Abyad) in its ‘Operation Peace Spring’ but now threatens to intensify attacks if the US and Russia do not fulfill their pledge to convince the YPG-led Syrian Democratic forces (SDF) to withdraw 32 kilometers south of Turkey’s southern border. Russia says the SDF has withdrawn to this depth.
The SDF has also said it is no longer militarily in control of the northern part of the country, adding that Russian military police have been deployed there. However, the SDF’s political branch, the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), is still administering northern towns in the framework of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES).
Turkey considers the YPG as the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has fought a decades-long armed struggle against the Turkish state for the cultural and political rights of Kurds in Turkey.
Most of the post-invasion attacks on the town of Sari Kani and Gire Spi have been blamed on the YPG.
