Syrian president’s office denounces the ‘terrorist’ attack and pledges to pursue accountability for perpetrators.
A car bomb has killed at least 20 people and injured many others on the outskirts of Manbij in northern Syria, the Syrian presidency has said.
Monday’s blast was the deadliest attack in the country since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December of last year.
The incident was also the seventh car bombing in just over a month in the area, which has seen fighting between Turkish-backed forces and a Kurdish-dominated group.
The office of Syria’s new President Ahmed al-Sharaa condemned the “terrorist” attack, saying that it will pursue accountability for the incident.
“This crime will not pass without the strongest punishment for its perpetrators, so they become an example for anyone who considers compromising Syria’s security or harming its people,” the presidency said.
Hospital workers told the Associated Press news agency on Monday that the car detonated near a vehicle at night carrying mostly agricultural workers.
The Syrian Civil Defence, known as the White Helmets, said at least 11 women and three children were killed in the attack.
“Everyone of these victims had families and dreams,” the rescue group said in a statement. “Their effort to earn a living turned into death and wounds. Justice for them must be achieved, and the perpetrators of this crime must be held accountable.”
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the explosion.
On Saturday, a car bombing in the city also killed four people and wounded nine others, state news agency SANA reported.
Jameel al-Sayyed, a Manbij activist and journalist, told the Associated Press that the recurring attacks have forced residents to become more vigilant.
“There are efforts from the people of Manbij to focus on protecting some neighbourhoods as well as setting up surveillance cameras in the main neighbourhoods of the city,” al-Sayyed said.
Throughout the Syrian war, which began in 2011, control over Manbij – which sits to the south of the Turkish border and to the east of Aleppo – has changed numerous times.
In December, Turkish-backed groups captured it from the US-backed, Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which denounced Monday’s bombing.
The SDF suggested – without evidence – that what it called Turkiye’s “mercenaries” are behind the attack.
Turkiye, a NATO ally of the US, views the SDF as an extension of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which it considers “terrorist” groups.
Al-Sharaa, a former rebel leader who assumed the presidency on a transitional basis earlier this month, is set to visit Turkiye later this week.
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