Destruction in Syria
Destruction in SyriaAFP photo

Explosions rocked several army ammunition depots in the western Syrian province of Latakia on Friday, possibly after they were targeted with rockets, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, according to the AFP news agency.

Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said there were reports of deaths and injuries in the blasts but he had no further details.

"Explosions around dawn today rocked an area... in the east of Latakia apparently as a result of blasts in ammunitions depots near a brigade of regime forces," the Observatory said in an email quoted by AFP.

Abdel Rahman said there were indications that the blasts were caused by rocket fire targeting the depots, but that there was uncertainty over who was behind the attack.

A military source told the website of Hizbullah’s Al-Manar that the rockets were fired from hotspots in the northern countryside.

The military source denied that “this operation targeted the military barrack from the sea or airspace.”

Syrian officials did not officially comment on the incident, but Israel’s Channel 10 News reported that a website affiliated with the Syrian rebels blamed Israel for it.

Elsewhere in the country, the Syrian air force carried out at least three raids on besieged sectors of the central city of Homs, where troops have been battling to roll back rebel forces, reported AFP.

The Observatory reported heavy shelling on Khaldiyeh district and the Old City of Homs, adding that regime forces backed by the National Defense Force militia and members of Hizbullah were fighting rebels on the outskirts of Khaldiyeh.

The group said eight regime forces were killed in fighting on Thursday in the two neighborhoods of Homs, which have been under siege by the army for more than a year.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)