Forty people were killed and at least 120 people were wounded in an explosion at a weapons cache in the central Syrian city of Homs on Thursday, Aug 1, a group opposed to President Bashar al-Assad said, according to Reuters.

The explosion occurred in the south-eastern district of Wadi al-Dhahab, which the army has taken over, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The group has a network of sources in the opposition and state security forces.

The Observatory said the casualties were soldiers and civilians and that some of the wounded were in a critical condition.