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People visit the courtyard of the heavily damaged Great Mosque of Aleppo, in the Old City of Aleppo, Syria. Russia’s mostly Muslim republic of Chechnya is becoming a major player in rebuilding war-ravaged Syria. And ordinary Chechens are likely to foot the bill, with many of them being forced to make contributions or face the possibility of exile or death, human rights activists say. Image Credit: AP

BEIRUT: A suicide car bomb attack killed four people overnight at a Kurdish security checkpoint in northeast Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said on Tuesday.

The attack comes as Kurdish forces from the People’s Protection Units (YPG) spearhead the fight for the Daesh’s Syrian stronghold, Raqqa, as part of a US-backed alliance.

The Britain-based monitor said the blast hit a checkpoint manned by the Asayesh security forces in Hasakeh province, around 20km (12 miles) from the town of Ras Al Ain.

At least two of the dead were Asayesh members, the monitor said, while the identities of the other two were not yet confirmed.

Syrian state television also reported the blast on Tuesday and said four people were killed.

Kurdish-controlled areas have come under regular bomb attack, with Daesh often claiming responsibility. There was no immediate claim for Tuesday’s incident.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which is dominated by Kurdish forces, is battling Daesh for control of the jihadist group’s Syrian stronghold Raqqa.

The militia now controls around 35 per cent of the city, according to the Observatory.

More than 330,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.