A suicide car bomb attack on a military convoy in northeastern Syria Monday killed five members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) accompanying U.S.-led coalition troops, a monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said five fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG)-dominated SDF were killed in the attack, which occurred on a road in Al-Hasakah province.

The state news agency SANA and the Hawar news agency, based in northern Syria, said the blast was a suicide bombing that targeted a checkpoint near the town of Shaddadeh.

Monday's attack came days after a suicide attack killed 16 people, including four Americans, in the northern town of Manbij in Syria. </s> A suicide car bomb attack has killed five members of a Kurdish-led force while they were out on a patrol with US troops in northeastern Syria.

The five fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were killed in the attack, which occurred near a checkpoint on a road near the town of al-Shadadi in Hasakah province, according to UK-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"A combined US and Syrian partner force convoy was involved in an apparent VBIED attack today in Syria," Sean Ryan, spokesman for the US-led coalition, wrote on Twitter, adding that there were no US casualties.

The incident marked the third major attack on SDF and coalition forces since Donald Trump, the US president, announced he was withdrawing all 2,000 troops from Syria in December.

Last week a suicide bomber detonated an explosive vest outside a restaurant in northern city of Manbij, where US coalition forces were on patrol, killing 16 people including two American soldiers and two American contractors. Three more US servicemen were injured.

The attack, which was claimed by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), was the deadliest against US forces since they deployed in Syria in 2015.

On January 5, they fired a heat-seeking missile into a group of coalition troops on patrol further south in Deir Ezzor, injuring five British special forces. </s> Beirut: A suicide car bomb in a northwestern Syrian city held by Turkey-backed rebels killed at least 14 people on Sunday, a war monitor said.

Four children were among those killed in the explosion in Azaz, a city at the heart of a Turkish zone of influence in northern Aleppo province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The attack also wounded more than 20 people, according to the Britain-based monitor.

“Many people were leaving evening prayers when the explosion happened,” Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman said.

It was not clear who was behind the attack.

The bombing comes one day after a similar explosion killed 10 people and wounded 20 in the northeastern city of Raqa.

Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016 and seized more than 2,000 square kilometres in northern Syria including Azaz, clearing the area of the Islamic State jihadists, while preventing any Kurdish advance in the region.

Ankara keeps Turkish troops and intelligence forces in the area, and still backs the local police forces. </s> A suicide car bomb attack has killed five members of a Kurdish-led force in northeastern Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said five fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were killed in the attack, which occurred near a checkpoint on a road near the town of al-Shadadi in Hasakah province.

The incident marked the third major attack on SDF and coalition forces since Donald Trump, the US president, announced he was withdrawing all 2,000 troops from Syria in December.

Last week a suicide bomber detonated an explosive vest outside a restaurant in northern city of Manbij, where US coalition forces were on patrol, killing 16 people including two American soldiers and two American contractors. Three more US servicemen were injured.

The attack, which was claimed by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), was the deadliest against US forces since they deployed in Syria in 2015.

On January 5, they fired a heat-seeking missile into a group of coalition troops on patrol further south in Deir Ezzor, injuring five British special forces.

Mr Trump announced in a tweet that Isil had been defeated in Syria and he would pull American forces out of the country. </s> BEIRUT: A suicide bomber attacked a convoy of US troops and their allies in Syria on Monday, killing five members of a Kurdish-led force fighting the Islamic State group, a monitor said.

The assault, claimed by IS jihadists, came less than a week after another deadly attack on US forces in Syria, and a month after Washington announced a US troop pullout from the war-torn country.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said five fighters from the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces were killed in the blast on a road in northeastern Hasakeh province.

"A suicide attacker driving a bomb-laden car targeted a convoy of American forces accompanied by the SDF on the Hasakeh-Shadadi road," said the Observatory, a monitor that relies on a network of sources inside Syria.

Shadadi lies to the south of Hasakeh, capital of the eponymous province, which has been relatively spared by the war that erupted in Syria nearly eight years ago.

The coalition confirmed the attack by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), but said there were no US casualties.

"A combined US and Syrian partner force convoy was involved in an apparent VBIED attack today in Syria," coalition spokesman Sean Ryan tweeted.

"There were no US casualties."

Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said the attacker had ploughed into an SDF vehicle.

Footage on Kurdish media showed a plume of grey smoke rising from a road flanked by dry land.

A witness told AFP the blast happened by a checkpoint held by Kurdish forces 12 kilometres (eight miles) outside Shadadi as the convoy drove past.

The witness said he heard planes fly overhead, before the area was completely cordoned off by Kurdish fighters.

The Kurdish security forces known as Asayesh said the attack hit 10 metres (yards) from a checkpoint outside Shadadi, but unlike the Observatory it said no one had died.

"A bomb-laden car driven by a terrorist tried to target a coalition convoy as it passed by, lightly wounding a female member of the Asayesh," the statement said, reporting no other injuries.

The reason for the conflicting casualty tolls was not immediately clear.

The car bombing came less than a week after another attack, also claimed by IS, on the US-led force and its local partners in the strategic city of Manbij.

Four Americans -- two members of the military, a Pentagon civilian and a contractor -- were killed in a suicide bombing targeting a restaurant in the city centre on January 16.

That attack cost Washington its worst combat losses since it deployed in the war-torn country to combat IS jihadists, who established a self-proclaimed "caliphate" across swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014.

Ten civilians and five SDF fighters were also killed in the Manbij attack.

The US had previously reported only two American personnel killed in combat in Syria, in separate incidents.

Later on Monday, IS threatened US forces and their allies with new attacks, saying on the Telegram messaging app that "what happened to them in Hasakeh and Manbij is only the beginning".

This month´s attacks targeting the US-led coalition and its allies follow US President Donald Trump´s shock December announcement that he had ordered a complete troop pullout from Syria, as IS had been "largely defeated".

Trump and other senior US officials have since sent mixed messages about the pace and scope of the withdrawal.

On Sunday, a former envoy to the US-led coalition said the United States had no plan for Syria after the pullout.

Brett McGurk, who quit in protest after Trump´s pullout announcement, told an interview with CBS "there´s no plan for what´s coming next" and this is increasing the risk to US forces.

Turkey has repeatedly urged Washington to make way for its own military plans in northern Syria, where the beleaguered Kurds are increasingly turning to the regime and its Russian sponsor for support.

In a phone call with Trump on Sunday, Turkey´s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara was ready to take over ensuring the security of Manbij.

He said last week´s deadly attack was a "provocation" aiming to impact the decision to withdraw US troops from Syria, where a civil war has killed more than 360,000 people since 2011.

The SDF is fighting to expel IS fighters from the remaining shreds of their "caliphate" in eastern Syria near the Iraqi border, but the jihadists have continued to claim attacks nationwide and abroad. </s> BEIRUT: A suicide car bomb attack on a military convoy in northeastern Syria on Monday killed five members of a Kurdish-led force accompanying US troops in an anti-jihadist coalition, a monitor said.

The attack, claimed by the Islamic State group, came less than a week after another deadly attack on US forces in Syria and a month after Washington announced a US troop pullout from the war-torn country.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said five fighters from the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were killed in the blast on a road in Hasakeh province. "A suicide attacker driving a bomb-laden car targeted a convoy of American forces accompanied by the SDF on the Hasakeh-Shadadi road," the Observatory said.

Shadadi lies to the south of Hasakeh, capital of the eponymous province, which has been relatively spared by the war that erupted in Syria nearly eight years ago. The coalition confirmed the attack by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, but said there were no US casualties. "A combined US and Syrian partner force convoy was involved in an apparent VBIED attack today in Syria," coalition spokesman Sean Ryan said on Twitter.

"There were no US casualties." The head of the Britain-based Observatory, Rami Abdel Rahman, said the attacker had ploughed into an SDF vehicle. Footage on Kurdish media showed a plume of grey smoke rising up from a narrow road flanked by dry land.

A witness told AFP the blast took place by a checkpoint held by Kurdish forces a dozen kilometres (around 8 miles) outside Shadadi as the US convoy drove past. The witness said he heard planes fly overhead, before the area was completely cordoned off by Kurdish fighters. The Kurdish Asayesh security forces said no one had died in the attack, which hit ten metres from a checkpoint outside Shadadi.

"A bomb-laden car driven by a terrorist tried to target a coalition convoy as it passed by, lightly wounding a female member of the Asayesh," the statement said, reporting no other casualties. IS propaganda channel Amaq claimed the attack on a joint US-Kurdish convoy. The attack came less than a week after another attack on the US-led force and its local partners in the strategic city of Manbij.

Four Americans -- two members of the military, a Pentagon civilian and a contractor -- were killed in a blast that targeted a restaurant in the city centre on January 16. It was also claimed by IS.

The Manbij attack cost Washington its worst combat losses since it deployed in the war-torn country to combat IS jihadists, who established a self-proclaimed "caliphate" across swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014. </s> A suicide car bomber killed at least seven people, including four police officers, in an attack near a checkpoint in the volatile south-western Pakistani city of Quetta on Friday, officials said. Abdul Razzaq Cheema, director general of police in Baluchistan province, told Reuters it appeared the bomber had detonated a car packed with explosives.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Cyprus Weekly. </s> A suicide car bomb in a northwestern Syrian city held by Turkey-backed armed groups killed at least 14 people on Sunday, a war monitor said.

Four children were among those killed in the explosion in Azaz, a city at the heart of a Turkish zone of influence in northern Aleppo province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The attack also wounded more than 20 people, according to the Britain-based monitor.

“Many people were leaving evening prayers when the explosion happened,” Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman told AFP.

It was not clear who was behind the attack.

The bombing comes one day after a similar explosion killed 10 people and wounded 20 in the northeastern city of Raqqa.

Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016 and seized more than 2,000 square km in northern Syria including Azaz, clearing the area of ISIS fighters, while preventing any Kurdish advance in the region.

Ankara keeps Turkish troops and intelligence forces in the area, and still backs the local police forces. </s> BEIRUT — A suicide car bomb in a northwestern Syrian city held by Turkey-backed rebels killed at least 14 people on Sunday, a war monitor said.

Four children were among those killed in the explosion near a mosque in Azaz, a city at the heart of a Turkish zone of influence in northern Aleppo province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The attack also wounded more than 20 people, according to the Britain-based monitor.

"Many people were leaving evening prayers when the explosion happened," Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman told AFP. It was not clear who was behind the attack.

Resident Abu Youssef said the explosion struck near the entrance of a market in the center of the city.

"The damage is severe: at least six stores were burned, the storefronts of dozens of other stores were blown out," he told AFP.

The bombing comes one day after a similar explosion killed 10 people and wounded 20 in the northeastern city of Raqa.

Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016 and seized more than 2,000 square kilometres in northern Syria including Azaz, clearing the area of the Islamic State jihadists, while preventing any Kurdish advance in the region.

Ankara keeps Turkish troops and intelligence forces in the area, and still backs the local police forces. — AFP
A suicide car bomber kills five soldiers of the Syrian Democratic Forces and five civilians at a checkpoint in central Raqqa, Syria. This and a nearby roadside bomb wound 20 people.