DAMASCUS, March 13 (Xinhua) -- An explosion in a house storing mines and rocket equipment killed at least six people and injured three others late Friday in the town of Atareb in Syria's northern Aleppo province, according to local Al-Watan online newspaper.
Residents told Al-Watan that the blast occurred shortly before midnight after a pickup truck belonging to the homeowner caught fire, triggering the explosion of mines and other military equipment stored inside the house.
The explosion destroyed the house, burying its residents under the rubble.
Local sources said all six people living in the house, including a child, were killed. Three people were injured after a neighboring house partially collapsed from the force of the blast.
Ambulances and civil defense teams rushed to the scene to evacuate the injured and rescue victims and survivors from the debris, residents said.
The explosion sparked panic among residents in the neighborhood and throughout Atareb, with the blast reportedly heard as far away as parts of Aleppo city and near the Turkish border, roughly 20 km away. ■
