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A crowd gathers at the site of a car blast in the rebel-held city of Azaz, on March 31, 2024 in this picture obtained from social media. Image Credit: REUTERS

AMMAN: At least seven people were killed and 30 injured on Saturday in a car blast in a busy market place in the rebel held Syrian town Azaz near the Turkish border, residents and rescuers told Reuters.

They said the blast occurred during peak late night shopping after ending the fast during Ramadan.

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“It’s timing comes with heavy congestion by shoppers,” said Yaseen Shalabi who was near the site of the explosion shopping with his family.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

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The Arab-populated town run by Syrian rebel groups backed by Turkey opposed to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad has been relatively quiet since it was hit by a car blast over two years ago.

Main towns in the northwestern border area have in recent years been frequently hit by bombings detonated in crowded civilian areas.

The civil defence forces said that at least 30 were wounded with some seriously injured transferred to local hospitals.

Residents and rebels in the mainly Arab-populated rebel-held northwest have long suspected the Kurdish led YPG who control large swathes of areas in northeast Syria and east of the Euphrates in northern Syria. Others blame groups loyal to Al Assad.

The YPG have long denied such claims.