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DAMASCUS, June 19 (Xinhua) -- At least three people were killed and five others wounded on Sunday when a suicide bomber detonated himself in Syria's northeastern city of Qamishli, state news SANA reported.
The bomber detonated his explosive belt in the al-Wastani neighborhood in the predominantly-Kurdish city of Qamishli in the northeastern province of Hasakah, said SANA.
SANA spelled no further details about the bombing, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the bomber detonated himself as the Patriarch of Antioch, Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, had just finished inaugurating a monument to commemorate the Armenian Genocide in the same neighborhood.
The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists on ground, said several people were killed, spelling no details about the well-being of the patriarch.
No party has claimed responsibility, but the Islamic State (IS) group has a recorded history in carrying out bombings in Kurdish-dominated areas in northern Syria, particularly now that the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which comprise and are led by Kurdish fighters, have made strides in battles against the IS in key strongholds in northern Syria.
