Homs weapons depot explosions kill 25 in Haqq Brigade attack

At least 25 government soldiers and civilians died in a Haqq Brigade attack on a weapons depot in Homs, Syria, an opposition monitoring group said. The attack Thursday in the Wadi Thahab neighborhood set off a series of explosions and also injured about 120 people, the Los Angeles Times reported. The weapons depot was located inside a one-time sports complex close to civilian residences, said Abu Jabir, an activist who lives in the area. The Haqq Brigade, one of the largest opposition groups in Homs, claimed responsibility for the attack. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 25 people died in the attack but that number could rise. The Times said the death toll was closer to 40. The opposition monitoring group said that, overall, 111 people died from fighting Thursday in Syria, including 15 children and nine women. Ohers were killed Aleppo, Damascus,Raqqa, Daraa, Idlib, Deir Ezzor and Hama, it said. On Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Russia delivered $1.3 million in humanitarian aid to Syria. The aid, which was collected by the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society after an appeal by Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill, includes medical equipment, clothes and food supplies, RIA Novosti reported.