5 killed, 18 injured in terrorist attack in Syria’s al-Bab
People inspect the scene of a car bomb in the northern Syrian town of al-Bab in Aleppo province, Nov. 24, 2020. (AFP Photo)


At least five civilians were killed and 18 others injured in a bomb blast in northern Syria’s al-Bab on Tuesday.

Attackers detonated an explosive-laden vehicle in the al-Bab district of Aleppo province, causing multiple casualties, according to Anadolu Agency (AA) reporters on the ground.

On top of the casualties, material damage was also reported in the area.

Firefighters were dispatched to the scene to extinguish the flames and wounded civilians were transferred to the hospital in al-Bab.

"Car-bombs and IEDs (Improvised explosive devices) remain a deadly scourge in Syria, killing at least 132 civilians, including 35 women and children, and injuring 461 this year alone," deputy regional humanitarian coordinator for the Syria crisis, Mark Cutts said following the attack.

Local security forces are evaluating the possibility that the PKK terrorist organization's Syrian offshoot, the YPG, could be behind the attack in the city located near Turkey's southern border.

The YPG/PKK, attacking from Syria's adjacent Tal Rifaat and Manbij regions, often targets Jarablus, Azaz, Afrin and al-Bab.

Once ruled by Daesh terrorists, al-Bab was liberated three years ago in Operation Euphrates Shield, which was carried out by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and the Syrian National Army (SNA).

Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield on Aug. 24, 2016, to eliminate the terror threat on Turkey's southern borders posed by Daesh and the YPG/PKK.

Following its liberation, most of al-Bab's residents have returned to the town, with its population almost doubling from 130,000 in February 2017 to 250,000 in February 2020.

Syria's civil war has killed more than 380,000 people since it started with the repression of anti-government protests in 2011.