At least 14 people were killed and 26 others wounded Saturday in a blast carried out by " terrorists" on a vehicle transporting prisoners in northwest Syria, the state-run SANA news agency reported.

The attack was carried out by "terrorist group" on the Idlib- Ariha highway in northwest Syria, SANA said, adding that the terrorists also targeted an ambulance that came to the site to transport the wounded.

Six policemen, who were accompanying the prisoners, were wounded and some of them in critical condition, SANA added.

An Arab League (AL) delegation have visited the National Hospital in Idlib, where the wounded were taken, SANA said, adding that the delegation also inspected the bodies of those killed in the blast.

Idlib province has emerged as a hub of armed insurgency during the past months.

Terrorist attacks have intensified in Syria recently, targeting governmental institutions and army personnel.

On Jan. 6, a terrorist explosion in al-Midan neighborhood in the Syrian capital of Damascus claimed 25 lives and left over 60 wounded. The attack occurred during the high traffic hours at noon and was considered aiming at the police forces.

On Dec. 23, 2011, two suicide bombings hit two intelligence centers in Damascus, leaving 44 killed and 166 others injured, a day after the first batch of AL observers arrived in Syria to assess whether the country is abiding by an Arab peace plan.

The Syrian government has blamed the country's turmoil on terrorists and foreign-backed armed gangs and said that more than 2,000 army and security personnel were killed during the months- long unrest. The United Nations put the death toll in the country at more than 5,000.