Damascus | July 26

Gulf News - An accidental explosion ripped through a military complex in northern Syria on Thursday, killing 15 soldiers and wounding 50, a Syrian official said.

"There is a heat wave and temperatures reached close to 50 degrees, which caused an ammunition dump to explode," the official told Reuters.

Syrian television said the attack was "not a terrorist act".

Witnesses said the blast took place early in the morning at an infantry school in the Muslemiah area north of the city of Aleppo.

"The blast was huge. One hospital I went to was filled with injured personnel," said one witness, who declined to be named.

[Comment: Having an idea of the stability standards for munitions, colour me deeply skeptical that even 50 degree temperatures would cause this sort of thing by itself. ~ JPD]