Dozens dead in Syria car bombs

The first blast happened in the Khashman district of the city, targeting Kurdish fighters, battling for control of the area against Syrian regime forces.

It was followed by another car bomb an hour later in the Mahata neighborhood, state television reported.

The broadcaster showed footage of a two-storey building that had collapsed from one of the explosions, and left a large crater in the street.

Most or all of the deaths happened in the second attack, according to the official SANA news agency, which also reported that at least 70 people had been wounded. The death toll included a woman and her two children.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the two explosions were suicide car bombs.

Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said the first blast hit a checkpoint belonging to the Kurdish security forces in Khashman, while the second struck the headquarters of a pro-regime militia in Mahata.

Control for Hasakah is divided between Kurdish militia and forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, although reports suggest that overstretched regime forces have languished in recent months.

The city has been regularly targeted by the "Islamic State" militant group but was expelled from several neighborhoods in July after battles with both regime troops and Kurdish fighters.

mm/msh (AP, Reuters)