DAMASCUS, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- A car bomb exploded in a rebel-held area in the countryside of Raqqa in northern Syria on Thursday, causing unknown casualties, state news agency SANA reported.

The explosion took place in the town of Tal Abyad, which is controlled by the Turkish forces and allied Syrian rebels in the northern countryside of Raqqa, the report said.

No further details were given about the blast.

On Oct. 9, Turkey launched an operation to clear the Kurdish militia of northern Syria in east of the Euphrates river to eliminate what Turkey perceives as a threat to its border security, impose a safe zone and resettle millions of Syrian refugees.

The United States reached a deal with Turkey on Oct. 17, imposing a five-day cease-fire to allow the Kurdish forces of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to pull back from the planned safe zone that Turkey wants to create in northern Syria.

On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a meeting in Sochi, Russia, agreeing on the parameters of the proposed Turkish "safe zone" in northern Syria.

The deal stipulates that the Kurdish militia of the SDF and its broader umbrella of the People's Protection Units (YPG) will pull back 30 km south of Turkey's border within 150 hours.

Joint patrols by Turkish and Russian forces will take place in that area, according to the deal. 

(Photo: VCG)