Minibus blast kills 21 in southern Syria - activists

Twenty-one people, including four children and six women, were killed when a minibus hit a mine in the southern Syrian town of Noa on Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.

Opposition activists told the Observatory the minibus drove over a mine planted by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. There was no immediate comment from the government, according to Reuters.

The explosion was reported in rebel-held territory in Deraa province but army troops are also stationed in the nearby base of Tel al-Jumaa, which is besieged.