Feb. 3 (UPI) — A car bomb detonated near Aleppo on Monday, killing several people, mostly women, according to Syrian Civil Defense and a human rights monitor.
The explosion occurred in the city of Manbij, located about 57 miles northeast of Aleppo. Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, said in a statement that the car bomb detonated next to a vehicle transporting agricultural workers on a main road on the outskirts of the city.
It reported that 14 women and one man were killed in the blast, while another 15 were injured, some seriously. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated at least 18 were killed, including at least 14 women. Twelve others, mostly women and children, were injured.
The death toll is expected to rise.
Despite the discrepancy in casualty figures, both groups separately described the incident on X as “a horrific massacre.”
The SOHR stated that this is the sixth explosion in areas of Syria controlled by the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army coalition, which includes radical Islamic rebel factions.
The violence comes days after the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Ahmed al-Sharaa, was appointed interim president of Syria.
Al-Sharaa and his jihadist rebels toppled the Syrian government of dictator President Bashar al-Assad in December.
Following al-Sharaa’s appointment as president on Wednesday, a number of changes were announced, including the dissolution of the Syrian parliament, cancellation of the country’s 2012 Constitution and a mandate that all armed factions in Syria disband or be absorbed by the new national army, The Guardian reported.
This is a developing story.
