13 killed in car bombs in northern Syria

TWO car bombs went off two hours apart in the northwestern town of Azaz in Syria and another village some 50 kilometers away on Sunday, killing 13 people.

The explosions in the areas controlled by Syrian opposition fighters allied with Turkey killed six civilians, including one child in Azaz, and six fighters at a checkpoint in a village near the town of al-Bab, first responders known as Syrian Civil Defense and opposition media reported.

Turkey and allied Syrian fighters control large parts of northern Syria, and are at odds with government forces and Kurdishled forces, who are considered terrorists by Ankara.

The opposition-controlled areas are scene of recurrent attacks that are rarely claimed by any one side.

The Syrian Civil Defense said it responded to 11 explosions in northwestern Syria since the start of January, before Sunday.

A video of the rally in the northeastern city of Hassakeh showed dozens of men gathering in a street on a rainy day as fire rang out over their heads.

The men began chanting: “With our souls, our blood we sacrifice for you Bashar,” in reference to the Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Hawar, a Kurdish-run news agency, said security forces at a checkpoint in the city had come under fire, prompting its members to respond to the source of fire. The clashes led to the death of a government security member, the agency said.

The different accounts could not be immediately reconciled or independently verified in the city where both security forces have presence.

The Kurds, Syria’s largest ethnic minority, have carved out a semi-autonomous enclave in Syria’s north since the start of the civil war in 2011.

They run their own affairs and control most of the country’s oil resources. In both Hassakeh and Qamishli cities, they share control with government forces which have presence in security zones, near the airport and in some neighborhoods. Both cities have a sizeable Kurdish population.

Tension occasionally erupts between the two sides, but the Kurdish forces have more presence and control there.

In recent weeks, Kurdish forces have imposed a siege on government neighborhoods in Hassakeh and to a lesser degree in Qamishli.

There was no immediate comment from the Kurdish forces.

But Kurdish officials have previously said they were reacting to government troops which have imposed a siege and are harassing Kurdish-dominated neighborhoods in the northwestern Aleppo province where government is in control.