Several dead in YPG/PKK car bomb attack at market in Syria's Afrin

At least three civilians have been killed and 10 others injured in a car bombing by the YPG/PKK terror group in northern Syria, Turkish authorities said.

The attack took place in the city of Afrin at around 0945 GMT (12:45 PM), according to a statement by the governor’s office of Turkey’s southern Hatay province that borders Syria.

The Hatay governorship is investigating the attack in coordination with local authorities, the statement said.

The bomb exploded in a market in the city of Afrin in Aleppo province. Volunteers with the Syrian Civil Defence, rescuers who operate in opposition areas, said the death toll would likely rise.

The civil defence group said a woman was among those killed.

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Sporadic attacks

Afrin has been largely cleared of YPG/PKK terrorists since Turkey launched its anti-terror Operation Olive Branch in 2018, but the terror group still carries out sporadic attacks in the region.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and to enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terror organisation by Turkey, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.

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