At least 26 people including two children were killed on Monday in twin suicide car bomb attacks in the north-eastern Syrian city of Hasakeh, a monitor said. The attack was later claimed by the Islamic State group, which has regularly targeted Hasakeh and briefly captured parts of the city earlier this year before being expelled.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 13 civilians were killed in the two blasts, along with six members of the Kurdish security services and seven fighters from a pro-regime militia. Syrian state television also reported the explosions, though it gave a toll of 20 dead and no breakdown of the toll. The first blast hit a Kurdish checkpoint in the Khashman district of Hasakeh, where control is divided between Kurdish and regime forces. That attack killed the six Kurdish forces along with 10 civilians, the Observatory said. The second blast hit the Mahata district, apparently targeting a headquarters of the local National Defence Forces pro-regime militia.