DAMASCUS, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- An explosive device went off near a police station in Syria's northeastern city of Qamishli on Thursday, causing injuries, a war monitor reported.

Unknown armed men tossed the explosive device near the police station of the Syrian government forces near the Arbawiyeh area, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Britain-based watchdog group said that the targeted area is close to an area controlled by the Kurdish militia in Qamishli in the Hasakah province.

A woman and a child were wounded in the explosion, said the Observatory.

The last blast in Qamishli was reported in December last year when a Kurdish fighter was killed.

Qamishli is controlled by both the Syrian government and Kurdish militia.

The area has witnessed tension between the Kurdish forces and the Syrian government forces but it never evolved into a major confrontation.