A missile landed in a marketplace in the northwestern Syrian town of Al-Bab in the Aleppo governorate on 19 August, resulting in several deaths and dozens of injuries.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reports that the attack left 10 people killed and injured over 30. Other reports say several children were among those killed.

The town of Al-Bab is under the control of Turkish-backed rebels, however, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Turkish strikes on Syria have, in many instances, resulted in the deaths of civilians.

Sources that spoke with the SOHR claim Friday’s strike could have been carried out by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in retaliation for a Turkish attack on one of its military positions a few days earlier.

Ankara’s attack resulted in the deaths at least 11 Syrian servicemen.

Hours before the strike on the Syrian military position, the Turkish National Intelligence Services killed the regional official of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Syria’s city of Qamishli, in the Hasakah governorate.

Turkey continuously violates Syrian sovereignty, and recently, has been planning to launch a full-scale military operation under the pretext of establishing a buffer zone between the Turkish border and military positions held by Kurdish militias.

Damascus has repeatedly condemned the Turkish aggression and has called on Ankara to withdraw its forces immediately, referring to their plans in Syria as “colonialist.”

Recently, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has been coordinating with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the northern border to confront Ankara’s planned operation.

As part of these efforts, on the morning of 13 August a joint SAA and SDF force targeted the surroundings of a Turkish military base in northern Aleppo using artillery fire.

Damascus has vowed that it is ready to confront any possible Turkish offensive in northern Syria.