LONDON Ñ An explosion has been reported at a leading Syrian weapons
factory, killing 35 people.
The explosion was reported early last week in the northern Syrian city
of Homs. Western diplomatic sources said a factory in a huge Syrian weapons
complex exploded, killing many of the technicians in the building and
causing widespread damage.
The sources said they did not know the cause of the blast. The Homs
complex produces Scud C and D missiles as well as nonconventional weapons, according to Middle East Newsline.
Homs, with a population of about 500,000 people, is located 160
kilometers north of Damascus. The city has an oil refinery and is a major
railroad junction.
The sources said the explosion took place either on March 24 or March
25. They said they did not know exactly what facility was destroyed.
"It could have been an explosion of a missile or something that took
place during the production or testing of explosives," a Western
intelligence source said. "We don't know and we might not know for a while."
U.S. intelligence sources said Syria maintains a missile test site 15
kilometers south of Homs. They said Syria has tested such missiles as the
Scud C and Scud D as well as chemical warheads.
Syria also constructed missile factories in nearby Hama, about 110
kilometers north of Damascus. One factory is meant to produce solid-fuel
missiles and the other is for liquid-fuel missiles. The solid-fuel missile
is being developed with the help of Iran.
The Homs explosion is said to be the latest in a series of accidents
that
have taken place during Syria's missile and nonconventional weapons
programs. In 1991, the Syrian Health Ministry closed down five
pharmaceuticals plants, including one in Homs, during what Western
intelligence agencies determined were tests of chemical weapons.
