drone attack on military academy in Homs kills at least 100

A military academy in Homs, Syria, was struck while a promotion ceremony for its officers was taking place there on Thursday October 5. The toll of this attack by explosive drones is heavy: at least 100 people died, according to the latest figures communicated by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH). Half of the victims are army graduates and around fifteen are civilians who came to attend the ceremony, the NGO said.

The attack has not been claimed but the army attributes it to “terrorist organizations”. Jihadist groups control part of Syrian territory and sometimes use armed drones. The Syrian regime has promised to “respond firmly” has “this cowardly, unprecedented terrorist attack”. The response came the same day: still according to the OSDH, the Syrian army carried out major bombings in the Idlib region, the last rebel stronghold in Syria. Residents reported to the NGO that four civilians had been killed.

Homs became a stronghold of Syrian rebels after the pro-democracy uprising in 2011, before being retaken by government forces six years later. When his academy was hit on Thursday, Turkey carried out new strikes on Kurdish localities in the north-east of the country, which left at least nine dead. Ankara claimed to be acting in retaliation for the attack which targeted the Interior Ministry in Ankara on Sunday, injuring two police officers.