Bomb blast kills at least five people in northern Syrian town of Afrin

Istanbul (Reuters) – At least five people were killed and scores wounded when a car bomb detonated in the northern Syrian town of Afrin on Saturday, the Turkish defence ministry and local civil defence said.

The ministry said in a statement the bomb attack took place in an industrial site at the center of the town and wounded 22 people, blaming the attack on the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia.

There was no immediate comment from the YPG.

Turkey regards the YPG as a terrorist group tied to the PKK inside its own borders, and has staged incursions into Syria in support of Syrian rebels to push it from the Turkish frontier.

Ankara now retains a large military presence in the area deploying thousands of troops in the last rebel enclave.

The local civil defence said the death toll due to the bomb stood at six, including children.