Islamic State Claims Bombing in Kurdish-Controlled Area

At least 50 people were killed after two explosions occurred in the northwestern Syrian city of Qamishli along the Turkish border. A truck was rigged with explosives and was detonated near Kurdish security forces’ headquarters; the force of the blast caused a gas tank to explode, which was originally believed to be a second bomb. The bombardments destroyed several buildings that left many people trapped in rubble and debris; currently, the city’s emergency responders are working to find those trapped.

Following the detonations, Amaq, the Islamic State’s news agency, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Qamishli and its surrounding territory is currently in the hands of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Movement, or the YPG. With the help of the US, the YPG took control of large areas of Hasaka province, including Qamishli last year. Since then, the Islamic State has orchestrated a number of attacks in YPG-controlled areas. In May, IS launched a triple-suicide attack targeting Kurdish checkpoints in northeastern Syria.

The YPG have been instrumental in fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. In Iraq, Kurdish Peshmerga forces have been a main force in the U.S led effort to take Mosul. The Peshmerga has led the offensive from the north, while the Iraqi Army has led the attack from the south, having recently taken control of the crucial Quyara Air Base. The seizure of the base will allow them to launch air raids against IS and fly in large cargo planes to supply the troops; the United States has sent 560 additional troops to the base to help coordinate the offensive as well as train and equip the Iraqi Army.

The Kurds are an instrumental US ally given their leaning towards secularism and their high effectiveness. Women fight in the Kurdish Forces and with the exception of the small Kurdish Islamic Front  which forms part of the Islamic Front in Syria, the Kurds show very few instances of leaning towards Islamism. The YPG is also involved in a U.S-led offensive in the west of the country near Syria. Specifically, the YPG is targeting the remnant of Islamic State forces in the city of Manbij, cutting off all routes out of the city in order to eliminate all possible supply routes for any Islamic State fighters still in the town. Kurdish are organized and proven effective at acquiring ground from the Islamic State; this is evidenced in the fact that they have more than doubled their territory since they began to fight the jihadist group in 2013.

In light of these Kurdish victories, the Islamic State’s bombing likely seeks to undermine the stability of Kurdish-controlled areas, making it more difficult for the YPG to coordinate its offensive.