Car bomb in Syria kills at least 20 people, mostly women

Another car bomb exploded on the outskirts of a city in northern Syria on Monday, killing at least 20 people and leaving over a dozen wounded, officials and emergency responders said.

At least 18 women were killed in the bombing, a nurse at the local hospital, Mohammad Ahmad, told The Associated Press.

Another 15 women were wounded, some in critical condition, according to the local civil defense.  

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast that occurred next to a vehicle carrying agricultural workers on the outskirts of Manbij.

It was the seventh car bombing in Manbij in over a month, said Munir Mustafa, the deputy director of civil defense, warning that the attacks near Syria’s second city are a threat to Syria’s efforts to bring about post-war security and economic recovery.

Manbij in northeastern Aleppo province continues to see violence two months after the fall of President Bashar Assad in an insurgent offensive.

Turkish-backed factions known as the Syrian National Army have clashed with the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. The factions took the city from the SDF in early December during the insurgency.

Not long after accusations against the SDF surfaced on social media, the SDF in a statement condemned Monday’s attack and accused Ankara-backed groups of possibly being involved with the aim of causing more strife in Syria.

The statement said the SDF will communicate with Syria’s new interim government in Damascus to investigate.

In a statement, Syria’s presidency said that “the perpetrators will face the harshest penalties to serve as a lesson to anyone who dares to threaten Syria’s security or harm its people.”

A car bombing in Manbij on Saturday killed four civilians and wounded nine, state news agency SANA reported, citing civil defense officials.

The attacks have forced residents to become more vigilant, one said.

“There are efforts from the people of Manbij to focus on protecting some neighborhoods as well as setting up surveillance cameras in the main neighborhoods,” said Jameel al-Sayyed, an activist and journalist.

The fall of Assad in Syria has raised hopes that more information could come to light on the whereabouts of American journalist Austin Tice, who is believed to still be alive more than 12 years after his kidnapping. 

Tice, a Marine veteran and freelance journalist, disappeared on Aug. 14, 2012, while he was reporting on the Syrian civil war. Weeks later, a short video appeared online that showed a distressed Tice blindfolded with his apparent captors. It was the last time he was seen.

In an interview with “CBS Mornings” in December, Austin Tice’s parents said they had not seen video evidence that he is alive, and they don’t know where he is. 

“We haven’t seen … video evidence since the initial video that came out shortly after he was taken, but there has been confirmation from folks that have had eyes on him, and that even fairly recently,” Marc Tice said. “So, again, we are confident that he is alive and we know he’s ready to come home.”