Syria: 3 simultaneous car bomb explosion kills 7, nearly 70 injured

Three car bombs simultaneously exploded on November 11 killing nearly seven people and injuring 70 in the Kurdish city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria near the Turkish police. According to the Syrian news agency, there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the explosion of two car bombs in a commercial street while the third detonated near a hotel. On November 10, eight people were killed in another bomb blast in the southeast Syrian region, for which Turkey blamed Kurdish fighters. 

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IS gunmen killed a priest

The three explosions took place on the same day when an American Catholic priest and his father were killed by unidentified gunmen while they were travelling from the province of Deir Az Zor from Qamishli where they went to inspect restoration of a church. The Islamic State group later claimed the responsibility for the killing as the gunmen were from their group. The Islamic State-linked news agency even posted a copy of the identity card of the priest along with his photo and name. Islamic State had also persecuted and even displaced tens and thousands of Christians when the occupied larger parts of Iraq and Syria. The Christian community makes nearly 10 per cent of the total Syrian population of 23 million. 

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Qamishli, a hotspot

Qamishli has revived as a hotspot after the United States abruptly retracted its troops from the northeastern border of Syria ahead of the Turkish military offensive. Turkey launched a week-long military operation into Syria in order to create a 'safe-zone' in the border areas. Qamishli is located in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in Syria. Turkey views the Kurdish fighters in Syria, who also fought alongside the American troops to eliminate the extremist group IS, as 'terrorists' because of their connections with the Kurdistan Workers Party. The Party is responsible for a 35-year long war against the Turkish state.

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(With ANI inputs)