Islamist rebels detonated explosives planted in a tunnel under an army base in northwestern Idlib on Wednesday, killing or injuring dozens, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The Britain-based group said the explosives blew up under a checkpoint inside Wadi Deif army base, which opposition fighters have been trying to capture for more than a year.
Video posted online showed a massive blast which hurled debris and soil dozens of meters (yards) into the air.
Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said there was no precise toll in the attack yet, but that "dozens of soldiers have been killed or injured."
The Islamic Front, a coalition of rebel groups, claimed the attack in a statement.
"The heroes of the Islamic Front, in coordination with the Furqan Brigade, blew up the Wadi Deif base... after digging a 860-meter tunnel packed with 60 tonnes of explosives," it said.
Wadi Deif is the one of the regime's last remaining strongholds in Idlib province, along with the nearby Hamadiyeh military base, which is also under rebel attack.
The Britain-based group said the explosives blew up under a checkpoint inside Wadi Deif army base, which opposition fighters have been trying to capture for more than a year.
Video posted online showed a massive blast which hurled debris and soil dozens of meters (yards) into the air.
Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said there was no precise toll in the attack yet, but that "dozens of soldiers have been killed or injured."
The Islamic Front, a coalition of rebel groups, claimed the attack in a statement.
"The heroes of the Islamic Front, in coordination with the Furqan Brigade, blew up the Wadi Deif base... after digging a 860-meter tunnel packed with 60 tonnes of explosives," it said.
Wadi Deif is the one of the regime's last remaining strongholds in Idlib province, along with the nearby Hamadiyeh military base, which is also under rebel attack.
