Tunnel blast kills seven troops in Syria's Aleppo

A powerful blast from explosives planted in a tunnel under the Old City of Aleppo, in northern Syria, killed seven government troops Tuesday, a monitor said in a new toll. Jabha Shamiyeh, a new rebel coalition in Aleppo, was behind the blast, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said at least seven government troops and allied fighters were killed. An earlier statement from his group had put the toll at 20 dead or wounded.
Abdel Rahman told AFP several other government troops were wounded in the explosion but could not say how many. The Britain-based Observatory, which relies on various sources for its reporting, said fierce clashes broke out in Aleppo's Old City after the tunnel blast.