DAMASCUS, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Two Turkish soldiers and three Turkey-backed Syrian rebels were killed on Thursday by an explosion in northwestern Syria, a war monitor reported.
The blast was caused by a booby-trapped truck that ripped through a checkpoint manned by Turkish and Syrian rebels in the village of Tal Halaf in the countryside of Ras al-Ayn city in the northwestern province of Hasakah, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The explosion also wounded eight fighters, including Turkish soldiers, and caused big damage in the area, said the Britain-based watchdog group.
It's the latest in a series of explosions targeting Turkey-held areas in northern Syria, particularly in the Ras al-Ayn city and its vicinity, which were stormed by Turkey following a wide-scale offensive in October last year.
The Turkish campaign was targeting the Kurdish militia groups, which are deemed by Turkey as terrorists.
