20 killed in car bombing in northern Syria

Cairo [Egypt], February 4: At least 20 people, most of them women, have been killed in a car bomb blast in Manbij in northern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Syrian Television reported on Monday.
A further 12 were injured, some of them children, the UK-based war monitor said.
The blast occurred in the south of Manbij, a region controlled by pro-Turkish militias, the observatory reported further. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast in the contested city, which lies about 35 kilometres south of the border with Turkey.
The office of Syria's new President Ahmed al-Sharaa condemned the "terrorist" attack, saying that it will pursue accountability for the incident.
"This crime will not pass without the strongest punishment for its perpetrators, so they become an example for anyone who considers compromising Syria's security or harming its people," the presidency said.
Monday's blast was the deadliest attack in the country since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December of last year. The incident was also the seventh car bombing in just over a month in the area, which has seen fighting between Turkish-backed forces and a Kurdish-dominated group.
The US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) condemned what they described as "a terrorist bombing" that took place in Manbij on Monday morning.
The SDF accused Turkish-backed mercenary factions of carrying out such attacks. "This is a consistent strategy employed by these factions to terrorize the population and prevent them from protesting against the dire conditions in Manbij, including theft, looting and assaults perpetrated by members of these factions," the SDF added in their statement. The observatory has reported a series of fatal car bomb attacks in areas controlled by pro-Turkish militias in the region over recent weeks.
Nine people died in a similar attack in Manbij two days ago, including members of the Syrian National Army, a militia supporting Turkey in its conflict with Kurdish militias in the region. Kurdish militias and militias supported by Turkey have repeatedly engaged in conflict in northern Syria since the fall of the al-Assad regime in early December.
Source: Qatar Tribune