Several soldiers killed, wounded in blast targeting military bus near Syrian capital

Several soldiers were killed when an explosive device detonated on a military bus in the Damascus countryside on Thursday, local outlet Sham FM said, 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, said that 17 soldiers were killed in the blast.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. A similar explosion in February left one Syrian army soldier dead.

A decade of conflict in Syria has killed hundreds of thousands of people and left the country fractured. Syrian government troops have managed to recapture much of the territory they had lost to opposition fighters.

Security incidents have been on the rise around Damascus and other parts of Syria controlled by the government.