Drone kills 112 at Syria military academy

October 07, 2023 00:00:00

Homs (Syria): Relatives mourn during the funeral in government-controlled Homs in Friday. Family members of some of the victims of a deadly drone attack on a crowded military graduation ceremony that killed scores gathered outside a military hospital in the central city of Homs on Friday to collect the bodies of their loved ones, who died in one of Syria's deadliest single attacks in years. Thursday's strike on the Homs Military Academy killed scores of people, including more 31 women and atleast five children according to the health ministry. The death toll could rise as some of the wounded are in critical condition. Syria announced a three-day state of mourning starting Friday. — AFP

BEIRUT, Oct 06 (AFP): An attack Thursday on a Syrian military academy killed 112 people, a war monitor said, with state media blaming "terrorist organisations" for the drone strike in government-held Homs.

Separately, Turkish air raids in the country's Kurdish-held northeast killed at least 11 people, according to Kurdish forces, after Ankara had threatened retaliation for a bomb attack.

In the central city of Homs, "armed terrorist organisations" targeted "the graduation ceremony for officers of the military academy", an army statement carried by official news agency SANA said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, reported "112 dead including 21 civilians, 11 of them women and girls". It said at least 120 people were wounded.

Health Minister Hassan al-Ghobash told state television the "preliminary" toll was 80 dead "including six women and six children" and around 240 wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The attack was carried out with "explosive-laden drones", according to the military statement, vowing to "respond with full force". The government declared three days of mourning starting Friday.

In the rebel-held Idlib region, residents reported heavy bombardment by government forces in apparent retaliation. The Observatory said eight people had been killed and some 30 wounded.

Swathes of Idlib province are controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led by Al-Qaeda's former Syria branch. The jihadist group has used drones to attack government-held areas in the past.