World War One tactics used to blow up army base

It's like a terrible scene from Beneath Hill 60.

Rebels dug a 850m tunnel underneath a large Syrian army base before detonating 60 tonnes of explosives.

Footage shows the hillside balloon up high into the sky before breaking into a cloud of earth and covering the area.

The Wadi al-Deif base had been surrounded by rebels but has remained locked inside government control throughout the three-year-long civil war, according to reports.

An Islamic Front commander who provided the footage said it was not known how many government soldiers died in the blast but it would help rebels break into the base, which has been used for attacks in the surrounding province of Idlib.

The tactics recall the efforts of specialist miners in World War One who would dig tunnels under No Man's Land to plant explosives beneath enemy lines.

Source: Al Arabiya

Author: Erin Tennant, Approving editor: Jack Hawke