On Thursday, a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device blew up near the Directorate of Education in the center of Azaz city in northern Syria. According to opposition sources, the explosion killed a civilian and wounded 4 others. Moreover, local security forces had dismantled an IED planted at the entrance of the new swimming pool in the western part of Azaz.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but it’s believed that ISIS is behind it. ISIS had previously attacked areas controlled by pro-Turkish militants with several suicide attacks. A suicide attack on the Islamic court in Azaz killed 40 civilians earlier this year.
Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and ISIS still have strong influence in in the northern and northeastern Aleppo countryside, despite the large presence of the Turkish Army and Turkish attempts to improve security and order in their areas of control.
Turkey completed the training of a new security forces group of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) last week. However, these security forces proved their failure so far, as the Turkish-occupied part of northern Aleppo is still under the influence of the warring FSA groups.
