Syrian state television reported today, Thursday, that a drone attack on a military college after a graduation ceremony for officers in Homs province resulted in a significant number of deaths and injuries. The Syrian Observatory and a Damascus-affiliated official told Reuters that around 100 people were killed in the attack.
The General Command of the Army and Armed Forces issued a military statement, stating: "Armed terrorist organizations supported by known international parties targeted the graduation ceremony of officer students at the military college in Homs with drones carrying explosive munitions immediately after the ceremony concluded, resulting in (the martyrdom of several) civilians and military personnel, and leaving dozens injured, including critical injuries among invited civilians such as women and children, in addition to several students from the college participating in the graduation."
The General Command of the Army and Armed Forces asserted that it considers this "cowardly terrorist act an unprecedented criminal act, and emphasizes that it will respond with all force and determination against these terrorist organizations wherever they may be found, stressing accountability for the planners and executors of this criminal act, who will pay dearly for it."
It is noted that regime forces conducted graduation ceremonies for officer students in the presence of Syrian Army leaders and Defense Minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas, who left just minutes before the attack occurred.
The attack is regarded as one of the worst assaults on Syrian military facilities and the bloodiest, with the use of armed drones being unprecedented in a country facing a civil war for 12 years. The Syrian Ministry of Defense stated that both civilians and military personnel were killed in the attack on the military college in Homs province, adding that "terrorist" groups used drones to carry out the assault.
No specific organization was identified in the statement, and no group has yet claimed responsibility. The Syrian defense and foreign ministries pledged in written statements to respond with full force to the attack. The Syrian army conducted several assaults, including heavy shelling in opposition-controlled areas in Idlib during the day.
A Syrian security source and a source from the regional alliance supporting the Damascus government against opposition groups reported that the Syrian defense minister attended the graduation ceremony but left shortly before the attack occurred.
Video footage obtained by Reuters via WhatsApp showed individuals, some in military uniform and others in civilian clothes, lying in pools of blood in a large courtyard. Smoke was rising from some bodies while flames continued to burn other corpses. A voice could be heard shouting "Put it out!" amid the screams. Gunfire could also be heard in the background.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that more than 100 people had died and 125 were injured. The source in the alliance supporting the Syrian government stated that the death toll was around 100. The conflict in Syria began with anti-Bashar al-Assad protests in 2011 but escalated into a full-scale war that has left hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced.
The fighting has exhausted the Syrian army, which relies heavily on military support from Russia and Iran, in addition to fighters backed by Tehran from Lebanon, Iraq, and other countries. Assad has regained control over most of the country, but a large area in the north bordering Turkey remains under the control of armed opposition groups, including extremist militants.
