MANBIJ, Syria

PKK/YPG terrorists carried out a car bomb attack Friday in the northern Syrian city of Manbij.

A vehicle loaded with explosives detonated in the town center’s Grand Mosque area, which was recently liberated from PKK/YPG terrorists as part of the Turkish-supported Syrian National Army’s (SNA) Dawn of Freedom Operation on Dec. 9.

No immediate information was available on casualties or injuries.

The SNA claimed the PKK/YPG was responsible for the attack, as tensions in the region continue to escalate.

Since Dec. 20, PKK/YPG terrorists have increased attacks on SNA forces around the Tishrin Dam, southeast of Manbij.

The terrorists have employed heavy weaponry, including Grad missiles, and have attempted surprise attacks by emerging from underground tunnels beneath the town.

In its 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK -- listed as a terror organization by Türkiye, the US and EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, infants and the elderly. The YPG is PKK's Syrian offshoot.

The PKK/YPG has sought to exploit the uncertainty since the Assad regime’s fall to step up efforts to establish a “terrorist corridor” along the border with Türkiye.

Bashar Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of Damascus on Dec. 8, ending the Baath Party’s regime, which had been in power since 1963.

The takeover came after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters captured key cities in a lightning offensive that lasted less than two weeks.