At least 16 killed in suicide attack in Syria

A massive suicide bomb attack in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli, claimed by the Islamic State militant group, has killed at least 10 Kurdish fighters and six civilians.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab & agencies

19 August, 2015

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Syrian Kurdish fighters have been successful fighting forces against the Islamic State militant group [AFP]

A suicide bomber killed at least 16 people on Wednesday in an attack on Kurdish security forces in northeastern Syria claimed by the Islamic State (IS) militant group, a monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the blast in the city of Qamishli killed 10 members of the Kurdish forces, called the Asayish, and six civilians.

"A suicide bomber in a vehicle targeted the Asayish's local headquarters in Qamishli," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The IS claimed the attack in an online statement, saying a suicide bomber had used a "water tanker rigged with explosives to infiltrate an Asayish command base".

"It was a massive explosion. At least 14 civilians have been wounded," Abdel Rahman said, adding that Kurdish security forces had cordoned off the area in the industrial district of Qamishli, a majority-Kurdish city in Syria's northeast Hassakeh province.

Arin Shekhmos, a local journalist in Qamishli, said the blast could be heard throughout the city.

"I wasn't close, but I could hear it from where I was," Shekhmos told AFP by phone, shortly after visiting the blast site.

"There is a lot of destruction; the buildings on at least two streets have been completely destroyed," he said.

Syria's official SANA news agency also reported the explosion, saying there were reports of dead and wounded.

Qamishli, under the shared control of Kurdish authorities and the Syrian regime, has been targeted by several bomb attacks this year. In late July, bombs struck the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Asayish, wounding at least three people.

Syrian Kurdish fighters have been some of the most successful fighting forces against the Islamic State militant group, which has seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq.