15 Soldiers Die by Blast in Syria
Pakistan Times Wire Service

DAMASCUS: A blast at an ammunitions depot triggered by searing temperatures near the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Thursday killed 15 soldiers and injured 50, Syria’s official news agency said.

Highly explosive substances caught fire due to the sizzling temperatures from a heatwave that is baking the region, the news agency said.

It said the injured had been hospitalised and were being treated, mostly for injuries caused by flying glass.

Sabotage had been ruled out, SANA said. A firefighting official said that the explosion took place at 4:30 am (0130 GMT).

"An ammunition dump exploded in a barracks at Messelmie (about 10 kilometers from Aleppo). There are deaths and casualties among soldiers," the official said. "We extinguished the fire."●