At least 80 people were killed and 240 others injured in a drone attack during a graduation ceremony at a military college in Homs, according to the health minister.
At least 80 people were killed and 240 others injured in a drone attack on a military school in the Syrian province of Homs during a graduation ceremony, according to the Syrian health minister.
Health Minister Hassan al-Ghabash said those killed included civilians, including six children, and military personnel. There were concerns that the death toll could rise further as many of the wounded were in serious condition.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
The Syrian military had previously said drones loaded with explosives targeted Thursday’s ceremony as it was coming to an end. In a statement, the military blamed the attack on fighters “backed by known international forces.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed “deep concern” about the drone strike in Homs as well as “reports of retaliatory attacks” in northwest Syria, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
The Syrian defense minister attended the closing ceremony but left minutes before the attack, Portal news agency reported, citing a Syrian security source and a source in the regional alliance that supports the government in Damascus against opposition groups.
“After the ceremony, people went into the courtyard and the explosives hit. We don’t know where it came from and there were bodies littered on the ground,” said a Syrian who helped put up decorations at the ceremony.
Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, who has reported extensively on Syria, said the attack represented “a serious security breach, a blow to the Syrian regime.”
“It has been years since Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces were attacked in such an operation in the heart of government-controlled territory,” she said.
“It appears that the Syrian regime is blaming the opposition because just moments after this attack, their aircraft began attacking residential areas in the opposition-controlled enclaves in the northwest of the country.”
At least five people, including a woman and a child, and 40 others were injured in attacks by a Syrian volunteer emergency rescue group on the northwestern province of Idlib.
According to the Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, the attacks targeted 20 villages and towns across Idlib governorate. At least eight children and eight women were among the injured.
The attacks, launched from government positions south and east of Jabal al-Zawiya, began at 3:30 p.m. local time (12:30 GMT). Locals say the attacks targeted a power plant and a popular market.
Additional reporting by Ali Haj Suleiman.