A car bomb exploded on the outskirts of the northern Syrian city of Manbij on Monday, killing at least 20 people and injuring dozens more, according to local civil defense authorities and war monitors.
The blast, which targeted a vehicle carrying agricultural workers, marks the deadliest attack in the region since the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad in December.
The Syria Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, reported that a car packed with explosives detonated on a main road in the southern outskirts of Manbij as a flatbed lorry carrying around 30 agricultural workers passed by.
Scenes from our team’s response to a car bomb attack in city of #Manbij, eastern #Aleppo, on the morning of Monday, February 3.
15 people were killed, including 11 women and 3 children, and 18 others were injured, among them 13 women and 5 girls, with some in critical condition.… pic.twitter.com/2oUBRVq2VS— The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) February 3, 2025
The Syrian presidency described the incident as a “terrorist attack” and vowed to impose the “most severe punishments” on those responsible.
No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing but the attack occurred amid ongoing clashes between Turkish-backed factions, known as the Syrian National Army (SNA), and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a U.S.-backed alliance.
Manbij, located in the northeastern part of Aleppo province, has been a focal point of recent confrontations between the two groups. Monday’s bombing was the second in Manbij within three days. On Saturday, a separate explosion in the city center killed four people, including two children and a woman.
The violence comes amid ongoing negotiations between Syria’s new transitional government, led by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and the SDF.
Last week, the Military Operations Administration in Syria announced the dissolution of the military, security agencies, and parliament, marking the most significant restructuring of governance since the fall of the al-Assad regime.
As part of the transition, administration spokesperson Hassan Abdelghani said all armed factions in Syria are to be disbanded and absorbed into a newly created national army, operating under the supervision of the Ministry of Defense. He did not specify which factions were included.
While the SDF has expressed its willingness to be part of Syria’s defense strategy, key details remain unresolved. “In principle, we want to be part of the country’s defense ministry,” SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi told the Associated Press on Sunday.
