Suicide bombing kills 5 in Syria's Qamishli

At least five people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself in Syria's predominantly Kurdish city of Qamishli on Saturday, state news agency SANA reported.

The bomber detonated himself inside the Domino restaurant in the city of Qamishli in the northeastern province of al-Hasakah, killing the five and leaving 20 others injured, said SANA.

The blast was not the first to target areas in Qamishli.

Last week, five Kurdish fighters were killed when a car bomb hit a checkpoint of the Kurdish People's Protection Units, or the YPG, at the al-Hilaliyeh roundabout in Qamishli.

No party has claimed responsibility, but the bombing bore the hallmark of the Islamic State (IS) group which has unleashed several attacks against predominantly Kurdish areas over the past few years.

The Kurds, who make up 15 percent of Syria's 23 million inhabitants, mostly live in the north of the embattled country and have been trying to keep their areas away from military operations and retain the kind of "autonomy."

In 2012, Syrian troops withdrew from most of the Kurdish areas, leaving Kurdish militia take over local security. The government, however, is still in control of vital areas in the city of Qamishli and the al-Hasakah province.

Following the surge of the IS in July 2014 and their capture of Kurdish areas in northern Syria, the U.S.-led coalition begun to help the Kurds in their battles against the extremists.

Last month, the Kurds voted in favor of establishing a federal region which would include the areas in northern Syria, on a triangular basis of the predominantly Kurdish strongholds of Kobani, Afreen and the al-Jazeera region.

Source: XINHUA