Blast in Syria’s Idlib kills two, injures dozens amid ongoing instability

At least two people were killed and more than 70 injured in a powerful explosion in the northern countryside of Idlib province on Thursday, according to Syria’s state news agency (SANA).

The blast struck the town of Maarrat Misrin, with its cause still under investigation.

Raed Al-Saleh, Syria’s Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management, said civil defence teams rushed to the scene, where they faced difficult rescue conditions due to ongoing secondary explosions.

“Evacuation and rescue operations are underway, but responders are working under dangerous and complex circumstances,” he wrote in a post on X, warning residents to stay away from the area.

No group has claimed responsibility for the explosion so far, and local officials have yet to confirm whether the incident was an accident or an attack.

Idlib province, located in northwestern Syria near the Turkish border, remains the last major opposition stronghold in the country. It is largely controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda affiliate.

Thursday’s explosion adds to the region’s instability and highlights the ongoing risk to civilians in a province where fragile ceasefires can be broken at any moment, and where the presence of armed groups and unexploded ordnance continues to pose deadly threats.