15 troops killed in Syrian ordnance depot blast

Explosion caused when high summer temperatures set off high-explosive materials at the depot; 50 wounded.

syria army 88 (photo credit: )
syria army 88
(photo credit: )
An explosion went off at an ordnance depot outside the Syrian city of Aleppo on Thursday, killing at least 15 soldiers and wounding 50 others, the state news agency said. The SANA news agency said the blast was caused when high summer temperatures set off high-explosive materials at the depot, adding that the explosion was "not the result of sabotage." The depot belonged to a military unit in Musalmiya, some 10 kilometers from Aleppo, 350 kilometers north of Damascus, the agency said. The agency said 15 soldiers were killed and 50 wounded. Most of the wounded were treated on the spot from "minor wounds" resulting from shattered glass. An official at Aleppo University Hospital said the bodies of five dead soldiers and 10 wounded were brought to the facility. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with hospital rules.