At least 44 people were killed and dozens more injured on Wednesday when a twin bombing struck a predominantly Kurdish town in northern Syria, state-run Syrian TV reported.
The report said a truck loaded with large quantities of explosives blew up on Wednesday on the western edge of the town of Qamishli, followed by an explosives-packed motorcycle a few minutes later in the same area.
The blasts caused massive damage in the area and rescue teams are working to recover victims from under the rubble.
Qamishli, near the Turkish border, is mainly controlled by Kurds but Syrian government forces are present and control the town's airport.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The terror group, in a statement published by the Aamaq news agency, claimed responsibility for what it said was a truck bombing that struck a complex of Kurdish offices in Qamishli. The extremist group has carried out several bombings in Kurdish areas in Syria in the past.
Wednesday's explosion came as US-backed Kurdish forces pressed ahead with their offensive on the IS-held town of Manbij also in northern Syria, further east.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the explosion targeted a centre of the local Kurdish police and a nearby government building.
(With AP inputs)
