11 Dead In Bombing Attacks In Serêkaniyê

(ANF) Eleven people have been killed and a further eleven injured in twin suicide bombings in Serêkaniyê in the Cizîrê Canton of Rojava, according to the YPG Press Center.

The first attack took place around noon at a YPG center at the entrance of the Serêkaniyê. Within a short time a second attack took place about four km away in the district of Til Xelef. The second attack employed a car laden with explosives and targeted the offices of the local protection units.

One member of the YPG was killed in the first attack, while six civilians and four members of the protection units (asayiş) were killed in the second. Children were among those wounded in both attacks.

YPG sources have put the blame for attacks in the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS) and emphasized that the attacks followed successful YPG operations against ISIS and were therefore not coincidental.

The district of Til Xelef is immediately across from the General Directorate of Agricultural Enterprises (TİGEM) in Ceylanpınar, which as reported last year has been turned in a headquarters for militant gangs operating in Rojava. It is one of the principal crossing points by which militans pass from Turkey to Syria.

Til Xelef was liberated by the YPG last year during operations which began on October 1st and lasted for five days. Directly on the Turkish border, Til Xelef is home to Kurdish, Arab, Chechen, Turkmen and Christian communities.

First Attack Since Local Elections

This attack was the first attack in Serêkaniyê since local elections took place in Turkey on March 30th. The AKP is accused of having stolen the election in Ceylanpınar through fraud and voter intimidation and major protests gripped the city for days following the election. The results of the election also increased fears that the Turkish state would attempt to turn Ceylanpınar into a base from which to attack Serêkaniyê and Rojava at large. The AKP mayor of Ceylanpınar, Menderes Atilla, was photographed last year posing with foreign militants.

The Turkish government moved its base of operations for supporting foreign militants to Ceylanpınar after the YPG liberated Serêkaniyê in July of last year. Most recently YPG forces engaged ISIS in Serêkaniyê on March 21st, in which at least 12 members of ISIS were killed. The clashes were part of a larger operation meant to support the Kobanê Canton of Rojava which was then under attack by ISIS. On March 19th YPG forces liberated the village of Til Hezir, 25 km to the west of Serêkaniyê, from ISIS which had used the village as a base. During the whole operation the YPG liberated the villages of Til Henzir, Til Xezal Miço, Ferisa Şerabiyan, Ferisa Sofiyan, Ferisa Dişo, Til Boğan, and Til Meha and killed 32 ISIS members.