Car bomb in market of opposition-held Syrian town kills 4

A car bomb exploded in a northern Syrian town controlled by Turkey-backed Syrian opposition fighters Monday, killing at least four people, rescue workers and a war monitor said.

The bomb exploded in a market in the town of Afrin in Aleppo province. Volunteers with the Syrian Civil Defense, rescuers who operate in opposition areas, said the death toll would likely rise. The civil defence group said a woman was among those killed.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll at six, including suspected opposition fighters. The bodies were badly charred, it said.

The explosion hit near the market in the town center not far from a post for the dominant armed group in the area, the Army of Islam, according to the Observatory. It said 12 people were also wounded, including two children.

Turkey and allied Syrian fighters took control of Afrin in 2018 in an operation that expelled local Kurdish fighters. Turkey considers the Kurdish fighters who were in control of Afrin to be terrorists. Since then, there have been several attacks on Turkish targets in the area.

The town has since been the site of repeated car bombings that largely go unclaimed.