DAMASCUS, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The explosion that rocked a Turkey-held area in northern Syria on Wednesday has claimed the lives of seven Turkish soldiers, a war monitor reported on Thursday.
The car bomb that exploded in the countryside of the Turkey-held Ras al-Ayn in the province of Hasakah targeted a Turkish checkpoint, leaving seven Turkish soldiers killed and seven others wounded, five of whom are in critical conditions, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The watchdog group said the death toll is the highest in a single explosion to hit the Turkish forces in Syria since they started their operation against the Kurdish forces in October 2019.
It is the latest in a series of explosions targeting Turkey-held areas in northern Syria, particularly in the Ras al-Ayn city and its vicinity, which were stormed by Turkey following a wide-scale offensive in October last year.
The Turkish campaign targets the Kurdish militia groups, which are deemed by Turkey as terrorists.
The Syrian government has accused the Turkish forces of being occupation, stressing that there will be a time when they are forced to leave Syria.
