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On October 20, a large explosion rocked an ammunition depot of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) located in the southern outskirts of Hama city, along the Hama-Homs highway.
According to several Syrian news sources, the explosion claimed the lives of six pro-government fighters, possibly members of the National Defense Forces or Iranian-backed factions. Many others were wounded.
Pro-government sources said that the ammunition depot explosion was the result of a “technical failure” without elaborating.
The explosion took place a few hours after a bombing that targeted a military shuttle bus in the Syrian capital, Damascus. At least 14 people, including civilians, were killed in the attack. Syria’s interior minister has vowed to hold the perpetrators accountable.
It is possible that the Hama ammunition depot explosion was also the result of an sabotage act, or even airstrikes. Nevertheless, there is still no evidence to back this theory.
In the past few years, several ammunition depots of the SAA exploded as a result of technical failures, neglect or mishandling. On 18 May 2018, Hama air base experienced such an incident.