Syrian Bomb Explosion Kills Dozens

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for two massive bombings that killed almost nearly 50 people and wounded dozens more in northeast Syria Wednesday, according to Syrian state television.

According to monitor group the Syrian Observatory For Human Rights, the attack targeted al-Asayesh, the Kurdish security and intelligence agency, in a report that has been backed by an ISIS claim of responsibility.

The TV says the vehicle blew up on the western edge of the town of Qamishli, near the Turkish border on Wednesday. The Kurdish YPG militia, which has proved the most effective partner for a US-led coalition battling Islamic State, is also involved in fighting the extremists farther west, in Aleppo province.

State TV showed pictures of widespread destruction that it said was caused by the explosion.

The predominantly Kurdish Syria Democratic Forces, backed by airstrikes and training from the USA -led coalition, have been the main force fighting IS on the ground in northern Syria.

An eyewitness disclosed that the blasts leveled several buildings to the ground and many people were trapped under the rubble. The explosions tore apart a security headquarters along with government ministries in what may have been Isis retaliation for a Kurdish-backed offensive that threatens to seal off the self-declared caliphate from the outside world.

The city is near the border with Turkey, and Kurds highly control it, yet, the Syrian government has a high presence in the area as well.

A source in the Kurdish Asayesh security forces told AFP “this is the largest explosion the city has ever seen”.

“Most of the buildings at the scene of the explosion have been heavily damaged because of the strength of the blast”, he added.

The area, a major supply route to move people and weapons, was controlled by ISIS until Kurdish forces drove the extremists away.