Syria says blast at military site in Deir Az Zor killed 11

Syrian army holds funeral for soldiers killed in ammunition blast in town of Ayyash, in western Deir Az Zor, on Friday.

Eleven soldiers have been killed in an explosion at an army site in Syria’s eastern province of Deir Az Zor, according to the Ministry of Defence.

Syria’s military held a funeral procession for the soldiers on Saturday, a day after they were killed in the blast, the ministry said.

The explosion struck a weapons cache within a Syrian Arab Army position in the town of Ayyash, in western Deir Az Zor, the official SANA news agency reported, citing the defence ministry.

Nine other soldiers were wounded, according to a statement from the provincial government.

The cause of the blast has not been determined, and an investigation is under way, the statement added.

This was the second blast at a Syrian military site in less than two weeks.

Videos of the funeral ceremony broadcast on state broadcaster Al Ikhbiriya showed mourners gathered outside the National Hospital in Deir Az Zor city on Saturday, where the bodies, wrapped in Syrian flags, were carried in the funeral procession.

Al Ikhbiriya said the soldiers were killed while transporting heavy ammunition at the site.

The blast follows a September 9 explosion at a temporary weapons and war-remnants depot in Sarmada, in the northwestern province of Idlib, which the Syrian Defence Ministry said killed 14 soldiers and wounded more than 10 people, including some civilians.

The ministry said at the time it took responsibility for that incident and that the depot had been used to collect weapons and munitions left over from Syria’s civil war in advance of their transfer under standard procedures.

Syria’s emergency management minister, Raed al-Saleh, told local outlet Enab Baladi at the time that his ministry is working with other government bodies to keep such sites clear of civilians. However, he acknowledged that some locations are difficult to fully secure because civilians are involved in collecting abandoned munitions.

Earlier, on September 1, a vehicle carrying ammunition exploded in Binnish, also in Idlib province, killing five people and wounding others, according to Syrian state media.

Explosions like these have become frequent in Syria as the country works to clear the vast stockpiles of weapons and munitions left behind after more than 10 years of civil war.