An explosion went off at an ordnance depot inside a military complex outside the Syrian city of Aleppo on Thursday, killing at least 15 soldiers and wounding 50 others, the state news agency said.

The SANA news agency said the blast was caused when high summer temperatures set off high-explosive materials at the depot, adding that the explosion was not the result of sabotage.

The explosion resulted from the combustion of sensitive, highly-explosive material caused by extremely high temperatures, SANA said.

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The depot belonged to a military unit in Musalmiya, some 10 kilometers from Aleppo, 350 kilometers north of Damascus, the agency said.

The agency said 15 soldiers were killed and 50 wounded. Most of the wounded were treated on the spot from minor wounds resulting from shattered glass.

Witnesses in Aleppo said high temperatures - which reached 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) caused fires in northern Syria starting Wednesday night that might have spread to the military complex.

Syrian civil defense teams have been fighting fires across Syria for the past few days, particularly in areas near the border with Turkey, as well as in Lattakia and Tartous.