A bomb exploded in a shopping area in a northern Syrian city held by pro-Turkish forces, killing eight people and wounding more than 20 others. At least "eight people were killed and 23 others wounded" when a "car bomb exploded in the middle of a popular market" in the town of Azaz in Aleppo province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Britain-based observatory, which has a network of sources in Syria, said the explosion caused "significant damage" and caused a fire. An AFP correspondent saw emergency teams working at the scene of the accident and the wreckage of a damaged car.
Syria's war began after the government cracked down on peaceful protests in 2011 and escalated into a deadly conflict that has drawn in jihadists and foreign armies. The war killed 507,000 people, displaced millions and destroyed the country's infrastructure and industry.
Turkey has launched back-to-back military offensives in Syria, most of them directed against Kurdish militants Ankara links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a decade-long insurgency against the Turkish state. Turkish troops and their Syrian backers hold parts of the border, including several major towns such as Azaz. /BGNES, AFP
