Blast in northern Syria kills 8 militants, wounds others

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian opposition activists say an explosion at the base of an al-Qaida-linked group in northern Syria has killed eight fighters and wounded others. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the blast Tuesday at the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham base in northwestern Idlib province, the last major rebel stronghold in the country. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the explosion near the village of Ram Hamadan was apparently caused by a shell that exploded as the fighters trained. It said eight militants were killed and others wounded. Step news agency, an activist collective, said at least nine fighters were killed.