Car bombing hits Syria’s Turkish-occupied Sere Kaniye, casualties reported

SERE KANIYE, Syria (North Press) – At least three opposition militants were killed and several wounded in a car bombing in Syria’s northeastern town of Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain) on the border with Turkey, local sources said on Monday.

An SVBIED, or suicide bomber, targeted a school in Hwaish village some 30 km south of Serekaniye, claiming the lives of three militants and wounding about fifteen the sources told North Press.

The militants belong to a Turkish-backed armed group called Sultan Murad, which was using the school as a military base.

The explosion caused massive damage to the school and several nearby houses; the sources added.

“Most residents left the village in panic and children were scared,” a local, who preferred not to be identified, told North Press.

So far, no group claimed the responsibility for the explosion, but some locals said it was carried out by another Turkish-backed group, as there has been in fighting among several groups in the area since October.

In October, the Turkish army and their affiliated Syrian rebel groups known as the Free Syrian Army (FSA), later changed to Syrian National Army (SNA), launched a military operation and pushed the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from the border towns of Sere Kaniye and Tal Abyad, leading to the deaths of about 500 civilians and the displacement of about 300,000 people.  

There have been several explosions in both towns since the Turkish invasion in October, as the areas occupied by Turkey suffer from security chaos due to the conflicts among several armed groups which rule the occupied areas.

(Reporting by Mohammed Khier; Editing by Hisham Arafat and Lucas Chapman)