BICOM

A large explosion at the Shayrat air base in Syria killed 31 personnel from the Syrian army and Shia militias on Saturday, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

According to the official Syrian state news agency, SANA, the explosion was caused by a “technical fault during the transport of expired ammunition.” A Syrian official said the munitions overheated due to extreme temperatures and exploded.

But the Intelligence website Intelli Times said the explosion took place while the personnel were unloading and processing a new weapons shipment that had recently arrived from Iran. The Shayrat airbase is one of the Syrian regime’s most significant military bases. Located in the centre of the country, it is known as a major transit point for weapons shipments being sent to Hezbollah in Lebanon from Iran.

In 2017, the base was targeted by US airstrikes, after US intelligence said it was the launch site for the sarin gas attack on the rebel held town of Khan Sheikhun that killed more than 80 people.