At least 21 people were killed in a car bomb explosion in the northern Syrian city of Manbij, where weeks of violent clashes have erupted between armed factions and Kurdish forces, according to Syrian state media on Monday.
The Syrian Civil Defense confirmed that the death toll had risen to 21, with numerous injuries reported.
According to the SANA news agency, all victims were agricultural workers who were passing through the area at the time of the explosion.
This marks the second car bombing in Manbij within two days.
On Saturday, at least nine people, including fighters, were killed when an explosive-laden vehicle detonated near a military site.
The attack comes amid intensifying clashes between Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) factions and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
On the same day as the previous bombing, 10 SNA fighters were killed in battles against SDF forces in the southern and eastern parts of Manbij.
The SDF, a coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters, led the 2019 offensive that defeated ISIS in Syria.
However, Turkey considers the SDF’s primary faction, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a terrorist organization due to its ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long insurgency against Ankara.
Both Turkey and the United States classify the PKK as a terrorist organization, further complicating the region’s security dynamics.
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