UPDATE - Syria: Tanker bombing kills 11, injures 45 in Afrin

UPDATE WITH NUMBER OF CASUALTIES

By Omer Koparan and Adham Kako

AFRIN/ANKARA (AA) - At least 11 civilians were killed and 45 others injured on Thursday when a bomb-laden tanker exploded in Afrin, northwestern Syria.

According to an Anadolu Agency correspondent on the ground, a bomb planted in a diesel fuel tanker was detonated in the Tirende area, south of the Afrin district center.

The fuel spreading around triggered a fire after the explosion.

Security forces are evaluating the possibility of a terrorist attack organized by the YPG/PKK.

Over the last three years, Turkey’s Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch anti-terror operations have liberated the region from YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists, allowing hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians to return to their homes.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than 30 years, resulting in the deaths of nearly 40,000 people. The YPG is its Syrian branch.

*Writing by Burak Bir