One killed, five injured in civilian bus blast in Syria's Manbij
A minibus carrying school teachers has run over a mine and exploded in the Northeastern Syrian city of Manbij, killing one person and injuring five others.
Iran Press/Middle East: The minibus was moving along a road in south-eastern parts of Manbij, as a result of the explosion, the driver died and five teachers were injured.
The condition of the injured teachers is said to be stable and all of them have been hospitalized, according to an INHA report.
In recent months, terrorist attacks have occurred frequently in Manbij. In most cases, civilians and Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) forces have been the targets of such attacks.
The YPG is part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which has close military cooperation with the US.
Ankara views YPG as the Syrian branch of the the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Manbij lies 30 km south of the Turkish border, in Aleppo province.
Turkish military forces have held an area bordering Manbij since 2016. Ankara has repeatedly demanded that the YPG leave the region and retreat to the east bank of river Euphrates.
After US President Donald Trump announced withdrawal of US forces from Syria, the YPG asked Damascus to deploy troops to the key city following Trump's announcement of withdrawal.
On 16 January, a terror attack in Manbij claimed the lives of at least 20 people, including five US soldiers. The blast occurred near an international military coalition patrol in the city.
The attack comes less than a month after US president Donald Trump announced that US troops would withdraw from Syria.
The Syrian Arab Army has managed to liberate large swathes of territory from US-and-Western-backed terrorist groups, such as ISIS in recent years.
Manbij lies 30 km south of the Turkish border, in Aleppo province.
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