SNA raises state of alert following explosion in Syria’s Afrin
AFRIN, Syria (North Press) – Following a truck bomb explosion in the city of Afrin, northwestern Syria, Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), raised on Saturday the state of alert across the northern countryside of Aleppo.
Local sources in the area told North Press that the cities of al-Bab, Azaz, and Afrin in the northern countryside of Aleppo witnessed a high military alert state after a truck bomb exploded at a checkpoint of the Military Police faction at the eastern entrance to Afrin.
The explosion resulted in the injury of 19 individuals.
The SNA factions blocked all roads in the center of Afrin, according to the sources.
The SNA factions set up checkpoints on all main roads in the aforementioned areas amid intensive inspections imposed on passersby, the sources added.
A military source within the Military Police revealed to North Press about the involvement of the SNA’s Hamza Division in the explosion. The truck driver was granted a military permit by the Division to facilitate his passage through the checkpoints in the area, according to the source.
The Hamza Division, however, denied the allegations and threatened to attack the Military Police faction, and mobilized hundreds of its militants in areas under its control in northern Aleppo, according to the source.
The Hamza Division, which maintains close ties with Turkey due to the Turkmen origin of its leadership, is accused of carrying dozens of assassinations, explosions, and others acts.
Most notably, the Division was involved in the assassination of Muhammad Abu Ghanoum, a local activist, and his pregnant wife in al-Bab on Oct. 9, which sparked public resentment at the time, the source explained.