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

Syrian authorities say an explosion at a military position in the town of Ayyash, in western Deir Az Zor province, killed 11 soldiers and injured nine others. State news agency SANA, citing the defence ministry, reported the blast struck a weapons cache inside a Syrian Arab Army site. The ministry has launched an investigation but has not released a cause for the detonation.

State broadcaster Al Ikhbiriya aired footage of a funeral procession on Saturday outside the National Hospital in Deir Az Zor city, showing bodies draped in Syrian flags being carried by mourners. The broadcaster reported the soldiers were killed while transporting heavy ammunition at the site. Provincial government statements also confirmed the casualty figures.

This event is the second recent deadly explosion at a Syrian military location. On September 9, the defence ministry said an explosion at a temporary weapons and war-remnants depot in Sarmada, in Idlib province, killed 14 soldiers and wounded more than 10 people. Syrian officials have said some depots are used to collect leftover munitions from the civil war ahead of standard transfer procedures.

Syrian emergency management officials have said they are coordinating with other agencies to keep such sites clear of civilians, while acknowledging challenges in fully securing locations where civilians take part in collecting abandoned munitions. Explosions involving stored or transported ammunition have occurred multiple times in recent months as the country works to clear extensive wartime stockpiles.