2nd LD-Writethru: Car bomb goes off in Syria's Qamishli, killing 4
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E-mail Xinhua, October 11, 2019
DAMASCUS, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) --- At least four people were killed on Friday when a car bomb went off in Syria's Qamishli city in northeast Syria, state SANA news agency and activists reported.
The explosion rocked the Munir Street in Qamishli near a restaurant, which left many people wounded as well, said the report.
The official Syrian media has yet to give further details but activists said four people were killed in the explosion.
Meanwhile, eyewitnesses contacted by Xinhua said a huge explosion was heard at Munir street and people rushed to the area to see what happened.
"Big smoke was seen near the restaurant in that area that is usually crowded," he said, asking not to be named.
The man said that six cars were ablaze and some buildings were damaged, noting that the people didn't know whether it was a car bomb or a Turkish shell that could have slammed the area.
Activists and pro-government media outlets posted online photos of the blast site, showing fire emerging from an alleyway with a charred car parked aside.
The explosion comes as Turkey has started a military operation against the Kurdish forces in northeastern and northern Syria to eliminate the Kurdish forces and to impose a safe zone to resettle millions of Syrian refugees.
The Turkish campaign came after the withdrawal of the U.S. forces from northern Syria, which was seen as a sign of abandoning the Kurdish forces that used to be Washington's allies in fighting the Islamic State in Syria.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry has issued two statements since the beginning of the Turkish operation, accusing the Turkish side of targeting residential areas and causing deaths among civilians.
Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad blamed the Kurdish forces for what is going on in northern Syria, saying the Syrian government will not dialog with U.S.-backed Kurdish forces who "betrayed" their country by betting on the U.S. support instead of reconciling with the Syrian government.
"The arms of the Syrian government are open for all its citizens but there is no way for us to discuss with them (Kurdish forces) neither by a separatist logic nor by the concept that they are a strong force on the ground," he said. Enditem
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