TWO CAR BOMBS HIT TURKISH-OCCUPIED AREA IN NORTHERN ALEPPO WITHIN TWO DAYS

On March 7, a booby-trapped car exploded at a checkpoint of the Free Syrian Police in the southern entrance of the city of Jarabulus in the area in northern Aleppo occupied by Turkey during its Operation Euphrates Shield.

According to the Syrian pro-opposition news outlet Zaman al-Wasl, 11 civilians were killed and two members of the Free Syrian Police were injured in the explosion.

A day earlier, a similar booby-trapped car targeted a HQ of the Free Syrian Police in the city of al-Bab, located southwest of Jarabulus. According to Syrian opposition and Turkish sources, one civilian was killed and more than five others were injured in the attack.

So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. However, Syrian opposition activists have accused the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) of carrying out the both attacks in response to its recent loses in Afrin.

An unnamed security source in the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) told the Syrian pro-opposition news outlet Enab Baladi that the booby-trapped car, which targeted Jarabulus, had came from the areas held by the YPG and the US-led collation in eastern Syria. If this is confirmed, it will be a clear evidence of the YPG’s involvement in the attack.

Tensions between the YPG in Manbij and the FSA in northern Aleppo has increased following a major advance by the Turkish Army in Afrin. Kurdish sources even reported the YPG may attack the FSA in northern Aleppo to ease the Turkish pressure on Afrin.

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