Russian troops take over abandoned US airbase in northern Syria: report

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Russian troops took over the Kobani airfield in northern Syria last week, one day after U.S. troops moved out, according to a report.

Russian state media showed the Russian flag flying over what had been the center for U.S. operations against ISIS in the region, CBS News reported Saturday.

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Other images showed Russian military helicopters landing on a runway and Russian troops deploying around the base, the report said.

The airbase is located along Syria’s northern border with Turkey.

The border region has been hit by several explosions that have killed and wounded scores of people over the past month, since Turkey began a military operation against Kurdish fighters in the wake of President Trump's decision to withdraw American troops from the area.

On Saturday, a car bomb exploded in al-Bab, a town in Aleppo province that is controlled by Turkey-backed opposition fighters. The blast killed at least 18 people and wounding several others, Syrian opposition activists and Turkey’s Defense Ministry said.

Last Wednesday, Russian officials said they had opened a helicopter base in Qamishli, about 200 miles east of Kobani, also along the border with Turkey, CBS reported.

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Two days earlier, Qamishli was the site of three bomb explosions that killed five people and wounded 26, according to Reuters.

Security forces in the largely Kurdish-controlled city described the bombings as a “terrorist operation,” the report said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.