Explosion in Azaz, Syria Market Kills 8, Injures Dozens Amid Ramadan Shopping
A devastating car bomb explosion rocked a bustling market in the rebel-held Syrian town of Azaz, near the Turkish border, on Saturday evening, claiming the lives of at least eight people and injuring at least 23 others, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, residents, and rescue workers.
Witnesses noted that the attack occurred during the peak shopping hours following the breaking of the Ramadan fast, causing chaos among the many shoppers present.
Azaz, a town under the control of Syrian rebel groups supported by Turkey and opposed to Syrian President Bashar Assad, had enjoyed a period of relative calm since a similar incident over two years ago.
The region, however, has been plagued by frequent bombings targeting crowded civilian areas. The local civil defense forces reported that at least 30 people were wounded in the explosion, with some of the severely injured being rushed to local hospitals for urgent care.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. Suspicion among residents and rebels in the rebel-held northwest has often fallen on the Kurdish-led People’s Defense Units (YPG), which controls significant territories in northeast Syria. The YPG, however, has consistently denied involvement in such attacks. Additionally, some point fingers at groups loyal to the Assad regime.
