Car blast kills 9 Syrians in Turkey-administered Afrin

At least nine people have been killed and dozens wounded after a car bomb exploded in a vegetable market in the northwest Syrian city of Afrin yesterday, with a People’s Protection Unit (YPG)-linked militia claiming responsibility.

Images of the attack showed small fires and damaged vehicles in a market at the centre of the town. Vegetables and other merchandise littered the ground, as sirens rang out and rescue unit the White Helmets looked for casualties.

#Syria: another motorcycle rigged with explosives set off tonight N. #Aleppo CS, this time in #Afrin. 3 people were killed and several wounded. pic.twitter.com/bwPFZVU9U2

— Qalaat Al Mudiq (@QalaatAlMudiq) December 13, 2018

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman confirmed that “the car bomb exploded near a position of pro-Turkey fighters” in a market, killing five civilians and four fighters.

Car bombs have become increasingly common in areas administered by the Turkish military; last week, the Directorate of Education in the Syrian town of Jarabulus announced it had suspended schools to protect students from suspected car bombs.

“The security situation is unbearable. We walk in the streets in fear and avoid any parked cars fearing it could be detonated,” Ibrahim Darwish, a resident of Afrin, told reporters.

Hours after the blast, YPG linked militia Wrath of Olives claimed responsibility for the attack, stating on official channels that it had killed 25 Turkish fighters and “settlers”, referring to internally displaced Syrians – however most of the confirmed casualties were civilians who were Afrin natives.

Residents and opposition groups believe that recent attacks are an attempt to sow fear and destabilise the area ahead of a potential Turkish offensive on Kurdish-held territory.

READ: 15,000 Syria opposition forces ready to back Turkish operation

On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdogan said his army would launch an operation in the coming days against YPG militias, whom his country views as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – a group classified by the West as a terrorist group that has waged a three-decade insurgency in Turkey.

The announcement prompted a sharp rebuke from the Pentagon, which stressed that any unilateral military action into northeast Syria would be unacceptable. The United States has been supporting the YPG in the fight against Daesh insurgents since 2015.

In January, Turkey started an air and ground offensive in Syria as part of “Operation Olive Branch” against the YPG. After securing Afrin in March, Erdogan expressed a desire to move towards Manbij where the US has 2,000 Special Forces troops, straining relations with the Washington. However the NATO allies seemed to have come to a compromise in June, with an announcement that military patrols would be conducted together in a bid to ease tensions. US forces have also set up three military observation posts near the border of Turkish administered territory.

But Erdogan’s patience with Washington over Syria – specifically a deal to clear the YPG from the town of Manbij, just west of the Euphrates – seems to have worn thin.

On Thursday, a spokesman for the National Army, a Turkish-backed opposition force, said that there was no set date for the operation, but that it would start from both Syrian and Turkish territory.

However efforts at negotiations are believed to be still continuing, with President Erdogan stating on Friday after a phone call with US President Donald Trump that the two countries have agreed to have “more effective coordination” on Syria.

READ: Turkey says US support for Syrian Kurdish YPG a ‘big mistake’