2020 Afrin bombing

On the afternoon of 28 April 2020, a truck bombing occurred a few meters away from the governor's residence in Raju street in Afrin, Aleppo Governorate.^[1][2][3] A bomb in a tank truck was detonated at an open-air market in Souk Ali in the city centre.^[2][3] According to the governor of the neighbouring Hatay province, across the Turkish border, the explosion was believed to have been caused by the rigging of a fuel tanker with hand grenades.^[4] The attack killed at least 53 civilians (including 11 children) and 12 Turkish-backed fighters, and injured over 50 others.^[2][5][6][7] Many people, alongside those who got trapped in their cars were burnt to death as a result of the blast, Syrian activists disclosed.^[8]

The Turkish government immediately blamed the People's Protection Units (YPG).^[2][3] The Syrian Democratic Council and the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Abdi, condemned the bombing^[9] and blamed Turkish policy, pointing out that "gangs armed by Turkey" had been involved in similar attacks.^[10][11]

According to the German Marxist newspaper Junge Welt, the nature of the attack and recent tensions suggests a jihadist group.^[12] Clashes between jihadist militias regularly take place in the Afrin and Idlib regions.^[13][12] Significant tensions have recently re-emerged between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the main rebel jihadist force in Idlib, and the Turkish government.^[12] HTS has accused Ankara of treason since the Russian-Turkish ceasefire agreed in early March 2020. The week prior to the Afrin bombing, the militiamen destroyed a Turkish tank while the Turkish Air Force allegedly destroyed a HTS base by drone.^[12]