Syrian army kills 17 militants in country's south

BEIRUT — Syrian government forces booby trapped a cluster of farm buildings in the southern Daraa province and detonated the explosives as several rebel factions gathered at the venue, killing 17 militants, opposition activists said Sunday.

The explosion, which took place late Saturday, was the latest blow to the rebels shortly after the assassination the previous day of a powerful rebel leader on the outskirts of Damascus. The developments could boost the position of the Damascus government ahead of Syria peace talks in Geneva next month.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the explosion in the village of Kfar Shams. Ahmad Al Masalmeh, a Daraa-based opposition activist, said explosives were planted at the farm and were detonated when the militants had gathered there.

"Once the fighters entered the farm, the explosives were detonated, killing 17," Masalmeh said.

Syria's state news agency reported that several fighters of the Islamic Muthana Movement were killed and two of their "dens were demolished at Kfar Shams".

The identities of the fighters killed in the farm explosion were not immediately known and it was not clear if they all belonged to the Muthana Movement or other factions. The movement itself is a relatively minor Daraa-based group of insurgents.

The area where the attack occurred is in a triangle that links Damascus suburbs with the southern regions of Daraa and Quneitra. The village itself is known to house many chicken farms, which supply large parts of Syria with eggs and the attack apparently took place in one of the chicken farms.