On October 6, 2018, five persons, a child included, and 27 others were injured as a car bomb exploded in the Industrial Area in the city of Azaz, Aleppo province. The blast caused severe damage as it took place near a filling station, according to testimonies obtained by Syrians for Truth and Justice/STJ.
It is worth mentioning that the perpetrators have not been identified to the date this report was written, October 10, 2018.
The eyewitness Hassan al-Aabad narrated to STJ’s field researcher the details of the incident:
“At 1:50 pm, on October 6, 2018, a huge blast shook the city of Azaz; its sound was also heard at rural areas surrounding the city. I was at work in the Industrial Area, where I heard a loud boom, after which fire was everywhere to be seen. My initial reaction was a quick escape from the explosion’s site, in the opposite direction, fearing that other blasts would follow or fire would reach the place where I work. And then, I stopped in a nearby place, from where I observed what was happening at the blast’s location. It was when I heard screams, from the same direction, of injured people, shouting out of pain. I drew closer to the explosion’s point; people were burning in front of my eyes, to whom I could do nothing. The first aid responders and the police followed; they started to put fires out and hospitalize the injured.”
Photo posted by the Azaz Media Office on Facebook, on October 6, 2018, captioned by the photographer as the first image of the explosion at the eastern quarter of Azaz city, al-Senaa neighborhood.
Braa Saleh, a volunteer of the Syrian Civil Defense, who provided the injured with first aid, told STJ’s field researcher that no civilian could approach the explosion’s location due to high temperature and the rapid spread of fires. He added:
“Hearing the boom, we immediately announced readiness. We, then, headed to the explosion’s scene. The firefighters rushed to put out the fires that spread everywhere. I saw many of the people, whose bodies caught on fire, some of whom we could not save as fire was feeding on their entire bodies. Additionally, several cars burnt out, with them the civilians on board. We also put out the fire that reached the interior of a residential apartment, fearing for the civilians who might have been inside. While the Civil Defense’s teams managed to hospitalize several injured persons, seven cars and many shops burned down.”
The local activist Hassan Hamdou told STJ’s researcher that the Industrial Area is known for its high population, and the numbers of the victims has doubled for several reasons, the first of which is that the explosion took place near a filling station and its timing corresponded to the area’s rush hour, in addition to the area being a residential one.
Hamdou pointed out to the explosion’s traces in the middle of the street, despite the fact that the fuel station is located at the opposite side of the blast’s site.
According to STJ’s field researcher, the following are the civilians who died in the explosion:
1. Malik Hadi Hassano
2. Ahmad Swaidan
3. Mahmoud Swaidan.
4. Child Mohammad Said.
5. Malik Bakour.
The injured are the following:
1. Nafie al-Jraim.
2. Ali Kurdi.
3. Ayat Bakour.
4. Bakri Kurdi.
5. Mohammad Sayed Habtto.
6. Abdulhameed Bakour.
7. Osman Hassan Bakour.
8. Adaan Sayad.
9. Ahmad al-Jasim.
10. Abu Staif Maryamain.
11. Zaidan Abdulkarim.
12. Mohammad Said Bakour.
13. Malik Ahmad Bakour.
14. Mohammad Faouzi keno.
15. Ahmad Jamil Bakour.
16. Hassoun Haytham Bakour.
17. Ali Hassan Bin Hassan.
18. Walid Hussain Abdullah.
19. Nashwan Faouzi Bakour.
20. Hamid Faouzi Keno.
21. Najah Khuder.
22. Mohammad Abu Naji.
23. Hassan Haytham Bakour.
24. Mohammad Aantar Bakour.
25. Ahmad Mustafa.
26. Zakaraya Mustafa.