44 killed in Islamic State bomb attacks in Syria

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a twin bombing that targetted a crowd in a predominantly Kurdish town in northern Syria on Wednesday, killing 44 people and wounding dozens more, Syria's state-run news agency and Kurdish media reported.

A truck loaded with large quantities of explosives blew up on the western edge of the town of Qamishli, followed by an explosives-packed motorcycle a few minutes later in the same area, media reports said.

The blasts caused massive damage in the area and rescue teams were working to recover victims from under the rubble, the SANA news agency said.

Qamishli, near the Turkish border, is mainly controlled by Kurds but Syrian government forces are present and control the town's airport.

"Most of the buildings at the scene of the explosion have been heavily damaged because of the strength of the blast," a local resident said.

The Islamic State group, in a statement published by the IS-linked Aamaq news agency, said it carried out the attack in Qamishli, describing it as a truck bombing that struck a complex of Kurdish offices.

The militant group has carried out several bombings in Kurdish areas in Syria in the past.

Image: Smoke rises while people gather at a damaged site after two bomb blasts hit the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli, Syria. Photograph: Rodi Said/Reuters