DAMASCUS, Syria: Syrian state media and an opposition watchdog say a car bomb has exploded near a school in a central province, killing at least 16 people and wounding dozens.

Syrian TV says Thursday’s explosion in the Al-Kaffat village in the central Hama province also caused extensive damage. The Hama police command says there were women and children among the victims.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which keeps track of the fighting in Syria through a network of activists on the ground, says 18 people were killed, most of them civilians.