Truck bomb blast kills dozens in Syria

An Islamic State truck bomb has killed at least 44 people, wounded dozens more and flattened several buildings in a largely Kurdish town in northern Syria, a monitoring group and state television reported.

local media reported that a truck loaded with large quantities of explosives blew up on the western edge of the town of Qamishli, followed by an explosives-packed motorcycle a few minutes later in the same area. The blasts caused massive damage in the area and rescue teams were working to recover victims from under the rubble.

Qamishli, near the Turkish border, is mainly controlled by Kurds but Syrian government forces are present and control the town’s airport.

#BREAKING Toll rises to 44 in bomb attack in Syria Kurdish city: state TV pic.twitter.com/tuKpZBclmX

— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 27, 2016

The latest attack comes amid intense fighting in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, where more than 50 people have been killed in recent days.

Islamic State has targeted Qamishli and the provincial capital, Hasaka city, in the past with bombing attacks. A suicide blast killed six members of the Kurdish internal security force, known as the Asayish, in April. In July, an Islamic State suicide bomb killed at least 16 people in Hasaka.

The predominantly Kurdish U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces have been the main force fighting IS in northern Syria, capturing significant territory from the extremists over the past two years.