Syrian authorities have confirmed 18 soldiers were killed and several others injured after an explosive device detonated on a military bus in the Syrian countryside.
Sham FM, a popular Syrian radio station, said the attack happened near Damascus on Thursday, without providing further details.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights — a war monitor that counts casualties and covers military developments in the 11-year conflict — later said that 18 soldiers were killed in the blast and 20 were wounded.
Syrian state media did not immediately report the attack and there was no immediate claim of responsibility.
A similar explosion in February left one Syrian army soldier dead.
Last March, militants attacked a military bus near Palmyra in central Syria, killing 13 troops and wounding 18 others.
Syrian authorities in the past have blamed such attacks on Islamic State group militants who have been active in southern and central Syria, despite losing territorial control in those areas since 2019.
A decade of conflict in Syria has seen hundreds of thousands of people killed, leaving the country fractured.
Security incidents have been on the rise around Damascus and other parts of Syria controlled by the government.
Wires/ABC
