Bomb attack kills 2 in northern Syria

ALEPPO, Syria

At least two civilians were killed and another 28 wounded in two simultaneous bomb attacks in Syria’s Aleppo province, an Anadolu Agency correspondent reported.

The attack took place when two bomb-laden motorbikes, one in the center of al-Bab and the other in the town of Qabasin, exploded simultaneously.

The explosion in Al-Bab’s center, which took place near the Omar Ibn al-Khattab mosque, left two civilians dead and another 15 injured, two of which were serious.

The second explosion took place in an open market in Qabasin town and injured 13 civilians.

Although no group has yet claimed responsibility, security forces blame the attack on the YPG/PKK terrorist group.

Al-Bab was largely cleared of terrorist elements in 2016 as part of the Turkish military’s Operation Euphrates Shield.

Since 2016, Turkey has conducted two major military operations in northwestern Syria -- Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch -- with the aim of purging the region of terrorist groups.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.