Car Bombs Rock Turkish Enclave in Syria

At least seven people were killed and dozens more were injured on Tuesday near the Turkish-Syrian border as two successive car bombs were detonated in Turkish-controlled areas just hours apart. At least five were killed and more than 20 wounded in a blast near the city of Al Bab, 24 miles northeast of Aleppo. Two more died and at least 17 were injured when another car exploded a few hours later in Afrin, a Kurdish locale, 37 miles northwest of Al Bab, conquered by Turkish forces along with Syrian rebels in 2018. Turkey has accused the Kurdish YPG militia, which operates in the area and which Ankara considers to be a terrorist group, of carrying out similar attacks in the past year. The Kurds have refuted such claims, instead accusing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of occupying Kurdish territories and displacing the local population. As the decadelong Syrian civil war continues to wind down, Ankara has maintained a significant military presence in swaths of northwestern Syria in its attempt to drive Kurdish forces away from its borders.