35 Syrian soldiers killed in plane crash

Damascus: Around 35 Syrian soldiers have been killed when their plane crashed near a military airbase in the country's northwestern province of Idlib, media reports said Sunday.

The medium-sized cargo plane crashed Saturday evening near the town of Khashir, in the vicinity of the Abu al-Duhur airbase, said the Briain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, without giving further details, according to Xinhua.

The state news agency SANA confirmed the incident, saying the cargo plane crashed due to bad weather conditions. It added that all crew members were killed.