At least 20 people have been killed by a car bomb outside the northern Syrian city of Manbij, the country's civil defence said.
All but one of the dead are women. They were killed when the explosive detonated next to a lorry carrying agricultural workers. Fifteen people were injured. No group immediately claimed responsibility.
A resident said the vehicle that exploded was parked by the side of the road. Recurring attacks have forced residents to become more vigilant, he added.
“There are efforts from the people of Manbij to focus on protecting some neighbourhoods, as well as setting up surveillance cameras in the main neighbourhoods of the city,” Jameel Al Sayyed, a Manbij activist and journalist told the AP.
It is the seventh car bombing to occur in Manbij, in Aleppo province, in the past four weeks, Syria's deputy director of civil defence Munir Mustafa said.
The repeated attacks raise questions about how the new government in Syria, dominated by former rebel group Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, will keep people safe. The group led the assault that last month toppled the regime of former president Bashar Al Assad.
Mr Mustafa warned that attacks in the province are a threat to the country's progress to bring about postwar security and economic recovery. Most of the explosions took place at night.
“The continued attacks on Syrian civilian areas and targeting civilians while they are trying to recover from the effects of the war of the defunct Assad regime ... threaten their lives, deepens their humanitarian tragedy, undermines educational and agricultural activities and livelihoods and worsens the humanitarian situation in Syria,” he said.
The Syrian presidency said it would hold to account those responsible for what it described as a "terror attack".
"This crime will not pass without the most severe punishment against its perpetrators, to serve as an example against those who will try to tamper with the security of Syria or harm its people," the presidency said.
Manbij changed hands numerous times during Syria's 13-year civil war, most recently in December when Turkish-backed groups captured it from the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which is led by the Kurdish People's Protection Units militia. The SDF took Manbij from ISIS in 2016.
- Agencies contributed to this story
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
Results
4pm: Al Bastakiya – Listed (TB) $150,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Panadol, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
4.35pm: Dubai City Of Gold – Group 2 (TB) $228,000 (Turf) 2,410m; Winner: Walton Street, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
5.10pm: Mahab Al Shimaal – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Canvassed, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Midnight Sands, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta – Group 1 (TB) $260,000 (T) 1,800m; Winner: Lord Glitters, Daniel Tudhope, David O’Meara
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 – Group 1 (TB) $390,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
7.30pm: Nad Al Sheba – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Final Song, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000
On sale: now
Drishyam 2
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy
Rating: 4 stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
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UAE SQUAD
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Ahmed Raza, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Chirag Suri , Zahoor Khan
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
