Syria arms depot blast kills 14 in Idlib

An explosion at an arms depot in northwest Syria killed 14 people and injured 11 others on Wednesday, the Idlib health department said.

The department said the blast happened at a temporary storage site for collecting weapons and war remnants near the city of Sarmada in Idlib province. It described the toll as preliminary and did not specify the cause.

The Syrian defence ministry's media department earlier told state television that several ministry personnel had been wounded in the incident. Syrian media showed large columns of smoke rising from the site as rescuers headed to the area.

It was the second deadly blast in Idlib this month. A car carrying ammunition exploded earlier in the month in Binnish, killing five people. A government source told AFP at the time that the car was owned by a weapons trader, while authorities did not announce the cause.

Idlib has seen sporadic blasts involving ammunition-laden cars or arms depots. The province was a key stronghold of armed anti-government factions during Syria's civil war before longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December 2024.