At Least 40 Dead In Syria Bombing

Reuters reported the Turkish Defense Ministry on April 28, saying that at least 40 people were killed in a bomb blast that happened the same day in the city of Afrin, in northern Syria.

The social networking site Twitter of the Ministry of Defense of Turkey said the explosion occurred in a densely populated area in the center of Afrin city. Among the victims, there were 11 children.

According to the video of the scene of the explosion shared by the agency, black smoke and billowing dust rose, while an ambulance and police sirens kept wailing at the back. Turkey's Ministry of Defense accuses the Kurdish militia (YPG) of being behind the attack.

Turkey views the YPG as a terrorist organization affiliated with Kurdish rebels to conduct military operations in northern Syria. Ankara regularly accuses the YPG of being behind attacks, while the YPG insists it does not target civilians.

Afrin has been overrun by Turkish forces and Islamic extremists (FSA) since the Kurdish militia since March 2018 in a major offensive.

After gaining control of Afrin, the Turkish army and the FSA have turned the area into a major base of extremist and jihadist forces in rural northern Syria.