Group says 54 died in Syria military factory blast

Beirut, Feb 8 (AP) An activist group says a bombing of a military factory in central Syria this week has killed 54 people. Rami Abdul-Rahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said today that the bombing took place in a government-controlled area Wednesday and that reports on it were slow to emerge. He says a mini-van packed with explosives blew up near the factory in the village of al-Buraq while employees were waiting for buses after work. Abdul-Rahman says those killed included 11 women and that all were civilians. He says the factory makes military supplies, but not weapons. Syria's state news agency reported the blast on Wednesday evening, saying "terrorists" detonated a car bomb near a factory. It said there was an unspecified number of casualties. (AP) NKP SAP 02081539 NNNN