Afrin truck bombing kills dozens in Syria

Apr 28, 2020

A car bomb ripped through the Syrian city of Afrin on Tuesday, killing dozens. It was the latest security incident in the area Turkish-backed Syrian rebel forces took from Kurdish forces in 2018.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a bomb-laden fuel truck exploded in an outdoors market in the city, killing at least 36; many died from burns. The Turkish Defense Ministry said 40 had died, while the Syrian Civil Defense, aka the White Helmets, put the death toll at 42. Six Turkish-backed fighters were among the dead, and at least 40 people were wounded, some critically, the observatory said. 

Videos posted on social media showed fires engulfing several vehicles and much of the street.

“Most of them were burned to death in the inferno,” the White Helmets, which operates in rebel-held areas, posted on Twitter.

During the holy month of Ramadan, the market is often full of shoppers in the hours before residents break their daily fasts.