BEIRUT (AP) — A car bomb exploded in a busy market in a northern Syrian town controlled by Turkey-based Syrian opposition fighters early Sunday, killing at least three people, rescue workers and a war monitor said.
The bomb exploded in the town of Aziz in Aleppo province. Volunteers with the Syrian Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, said the blast, just after midnight, killed two children and a woman.
The explosion that tore through the busy market also wounded five civilians and destroyed shops and homes in the area, the paramedic group said. First responders struggled to break through the large panicking crowds in the market, searching for casualties, clearing the wreckage, and putting out fires.
No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Meanwhile, Britain-based opposition war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least eight people were killed and 23 wounded.
Turkey has launched three major cross-border operations in Syria since 2016 and controls some Syrian territory in the north.
In this photo provided by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Syrian White Helmet civil defense workers search for casualties after a car bomb exploded in a busy market in the Turkish-controlled northwestern city of Azaz, Syria, early Sunday, March 31, 2024. The explosion that tore through the busy market killing at least three people and wounded five civilians, the paramedic group said, and destroyed shops and homes in the area. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP)
In this photo provided by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Syrian White Helmet civil defense workers search for casualties after a car bomb exploded in a busy market in the Turkish-controlled northwestern city of Azaz, Syria, early Sunday, March 31, 2024. The explosion that tore through the busy market killing at least three people and wounded five civilians, the paramedic group said, and destroyed shops and homes in the area. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP)
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — A bomb at a refugee camp in eastern Congo has killed at least 5 people, including children, a spokesperson for the Congolese army said Friday.
Two children and their mother were among the dead, and more than 20 other people were injured, John Banyene, a civil society activist based in Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, told The Associated Press.
Lt Colonel Ndjike Kaiko, the army spokesperson, blamed the attack on the Mugunga refugee camp in North Kivu on a rebel group, known as M23, with alleged links to Rwanda, in a statement provided to the AP.
A military spokesman for the rebel group, Lt. Col. Willy Ngoma, denied any role and accused the army of planting the bomb.
M23 has seized more territory this week, capturing the mining town of Rubaya.
The town holds deposits of tantalum, which is extracted from coltan, a key component in the production of smartphones. It is among the minerals that was named earlier this month in a letter from Congo’s government questioning Apple about the tech company’s knowledge of “blood minerals” being smuggled in its supply chain.
The decades-long conflict in eastern Congo has produced one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with over 100 armed groups fighting in the region, most for land and control of mines with valuable minerals. Some are fighting to try to protect their communities.
Many groups are accused of carrying out mass killings, rapes and other human rights violations. The violence has displaced about 7 million people, many beyond the reach of aid.
Follow AP’s Africa coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
People gather at the side of an explosion in a refugee camp on the outskirts of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Friday, May, 3, 2024. The Congolese army says a bomb at a refugee camp in eastern Congo has killed at least 5 people, including children. An army spokesman blamed the attack at the Mugunga refugee camp in North Kivu on a rebel group, known as M23, with alleged links to Rwanda, in a statement provided to The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
People gather at the side of an explosion in a refugee camp on the outskirts of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Friday, May, 3, 2024. The Congolese army says a bomb at a refugee camp in eastern Congo has killed at least 5 people, including children. An army spokesman blamed the attack at the Mugunga refugee camp in North Kivu on a rebel group, known as M23, with alleged links to Rwanda, in a statement provided to The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
People gather at the side of an explosion in a refugee camp on the outskirts of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Friday, May, 3, 2024. The Congolese army says a bomb at a refugee camp in eastern Congo has killed at least 5 people, including children. An army spokesman blamed the attack at the Mugunga refugee camp in North Kivu on a rebel group, known as M23, with alleged links to Rwanda, in a statement provided to The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
People gather at the side of an explosion in a refugee camp on the outskirts of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Friday, May, 3, 2024. The Congolese army says a bomb at a refugee camp in eastern Congo has killed at least 5 people, including children. An army spokesman blamed the attack at the Mugunga refugee camp in North Kivu on a rebel group, known as M23, with alleged links to Rwanda, in a statement provided to The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
People gather at the side of an explosion in a refugee camp on the outskirts of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Friday, May, 3, 2024. The Congolese army says a bomb at a refugee camp in eastern Congo has killed at least 5 people, including children. An army spokesman blamed the attack at the Mugunga refugee camp in North Kivu on a rebel group, known as M23, with alleged links to Rwanda, in a statement provided to The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
People gather at the side of an explosion in a refugee camp on the outskirts of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Friday, May, 3, 2024. The Congolese army says a bomb at a refugee camp in eastern Congo has killed at least 5 people, including children. An army spokesman blamed the attack at the Mugunga refugee camp in North Kivu on a rebel group, known as M23, with alleged links to Rwanda, in a statement provided to The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
People gather at the side of an explosion in a refugee camp on the outskirts of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Friday, May, 3, 2024. The Congolese army says a bomb at a refugee camp in eastern Congo has killed at least 5 people, including children. An army spokesman blamed the attack at the Mugunga refugee camp in North Kivu on a rebel group, known as M23, with alleged links to Rwanda, in a statement provided to The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
People gather at the side of an explosion in a refugee camp on the outskirts of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Friday, May, 3, 2024. The Congolese army says a bomb at a refugee camp in eastern Congo has killed at least 5 people, including children. An army spokesman blamed the attack at the Mugunga refugee camp in North Kivu on a rebel group, known as M23, with alleged links to Rwanda, in a statement provided to The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
People gather at the side of an explosion in a refugee camp on the outskirts of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Friday, May, 3, 2024. The Congolese army says a bomb at a refugee camp in eastern Congo has killed at least 5 people, including children. An army spokesman blamed the attack at the Mugunga refugee camp in North Kivu on a rebel group, known as M23, with alleged links to Rwanda, in a statement provided to The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
People gather at the side of an explosion in a refugee camp on the outskirts of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Friday, May, 3, 2024. The Congolese army says a bomb at a refugee camp in eastern Congo has killed at least 5 people, including children. An army spokesman blamed the attack at the Mugunga refugee camp in North Kivu on a rebel group, known as M23, with alleged links to Rwanda, in a statement provided to The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
People gather at the side of an explosion in a refugee camp on the outskirts of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Friday, May, 3, 2024. The Congolese army says a bomb at a refugee camp in eastern Congo has killed at least 5 people, including children. An army spokesman blamed the attack at the Mugunga refugee camp in North Kivu on a rebel group, known as M23, with alleged links to Rwanda, in a statement provided to The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
FILE - M23 rebels stand with their weapons in Kibumba, in the eastern of Democratic Republic of Congo, Dec. 23, 2022. A bomb at a refugee camp in eastern Congo has killed at least 5 people, including children, a spokesman for the Congolese army said on Friday May 3, 2024. Lt Colonel Ndjike Kaiko, the army spokesman blamed the attack on the Mugunga refugee camp in North Kivu on a a rebel group with alleged links to Rwanda, known as M23, in a statement provided to The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa, File)
