4 days ago
A Series of Mysterious Explosions Unnerves Syrians
Months before an explosion rocked the small Syrian village of al-Nayrab, residents had pleaded with the government to secure a nearby military base filled with warheads, rockets and other weaponry.
After rebels ousted President Bashar al-Assad in December, government soldiers fled the small base near Aleppo, Syria's capital, leaving unsecured weapons behind. In the months that followed, children played near the explosives, while shepherds and thieves looking for scrap copper would walk through the base and sometimes tamper with the weaponry, two residents told The New York Times.
'I started hearing a crackling sound from the base and two successive explosions,' Nasr Handawi, a grain merchant and father of nine who lives in al-Nayrab, said of the blast on July 11. It injured 14 people and damaged many homes in the village, according to the provincial government.
'Within two minutes, a fire broke out,' he added. 'I ran down immediately from the second floor to grab my wife and children and escape. Then the explosion happened.'
At least five other mysterious explosions at military bases and weapons storage sites this month have caused deaths and injuries. They have also raised questions about whether large caches of weapons, ammunition and other unexploded ordnance from Syria's 13-year civil war have been properly secured during a transition of power over the past seven months.
On Thursday, another large explosion at a military base hit the town of Maraat Misrin, in the northwestern province of Idlib. At least six people were killed and more than 100 injured, according to the Syrian Civil Defense rescue teams. Rescue efforts were hampered by a series of explosions from the base, which contained weapons and munitions, state news media reported, citing the emergency and disaster management minister, Raed al-Saleh.
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