Fuel tank explosion in Syria, 27 killed
The Maysaloun clinic in the city of Hasaka was set on fire after the fuel tank exploded, the report said, adding that most of the victims were children who were taking vaccines at the clinic when the blast occurred.
According the reports, Juan Mohammed, a Kurdish official in the nearby city of Hassakeh, said the explosion happened as the clinic was packed with children who were brought to receive polio vaccinations.
Mohammed said it appeared that a gas cylinder exploded inside the clinic in what led to an explosion of an oxygen cylinder that was nearby. He said that the two blasts led to a third explosion in the fuel tank killing 25 people including 12 staffers and some children.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fire killed 25 people adding that some of the wounded are in critical condition.
Also Sunday, Islamic State fighters captured the town of Souran Azaz and the nearby villages of Hasya and Bel in the northern province of Aleppo from moderate Syrian rebel groups. The villages are close to the Bab al-Salamah border crossing point with Turkey.
The Observatory said the fighting in the area killed 31 rebels and 22 IS members. IS has been fighting over territory with rebel groups in Aleppo since early last year.
Meanwhile, the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fire at the clinic broke out after a gas cylinder exploded, causing other oxygen cylinders to explode as well. It noted that many of the wounded were in critical conditions.
