2nd LD: Booby-trapped truck explodes near school in Syria's Homs, injuring 27

An explosive-laden truck went off near a school in a pro-government district of Syria's central province of Homs on Sunday, leaving 27 people wounded, a monitor group and the official Syrian TV reported.

The car exploded near the al-Buhturi School in the al-Nuzha neighborhood, while students were taking exams, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The UK-based watchdog group, which tracks the war in Syria, said confirmed reports indicate the falling of causalities, but without placing a number.

Meanwhile, the official Syrian TV cited preliminary information as indicating that 27 people were injured in the blast, which, it said, was caused by a booby-trapped truck that ripped through Wadi al-Dahab Street in al-Nuzha.

The TV aired video clips of the blast site in Homs, showing scenes of destruction, and people wandering around the rubble-strewn streets.

The neighborhood is inhabited by people of the Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, to whom the ruling elite in Syria belong.

Rebels in Homs have repeatedly targeted pro-government districts, mainly those inhabited by minority groups that back the government, with explosive devices, rockets and explosive-laden vehicles. Endit