Eight dead and more than 20 injured in car bomb at north Syria market

A bomb exploded in a shopping area in a northern Syrian city held by pro-Turkish forces, killing eight people and wounding more than 20, a war monitor said.

A bomb exploded in a shopping area in a northern Syrian city held by pro-Turkish forces, killing eight people and wounding more than 20, a war monitor said.

The blast in Azaz, Aleppo province, occurred not long after midnight as crowds were out shopping late during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.

The group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that "eight people were killed and 23 others wounded" when "a car bomb exploded in the middle of a popular market".

The Britain-based Observatory, which has a network of sources inside Syria, said the blast caused "significant damage" and sparked a fire.

Bombings and other security incidents are common in areas held by pro-Turkish forces in northern Syria, where rivalries among armed factions and the risk of attacks by Islamic State group jihadists exacerbate an already tenuous security situation after years of war.

The AFP correspondent saw emergency responders working at the scene and the remains of a mangled vehicle.

Khaled al-Nowmeh, 36, who has a pharmacy in Azaz, said he, his wife and children had gone to the market to buy clothes when the blast struck.