Drone attack in Syria kills and wounds officers and civilians at a military ceremony

A drone attack strikes a packed graduation ceremony for military officers in the Syrian city of Homs, killing an unspecified number of civilians and military personnel and wounding dozens of others, Syrian state television reports.

Syria’s military says in a statement that drones laden with explosives targeted the ceremony as it came to an end. They accuse insurgents “backed by known international forces” of the attack, and say that some of the wounded are in critical condition, including women and children.

They don’t specify the number of casualties and don’t accuse anyone in particular of carrying out the deadly strike. No group immediately claims responsibility for the attack.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor with questionable veracity and unclear funding, claims at least 60 have been killed.

The Syrian military in its statement says “that it will respond with full force and decisiveness to these terrorist organizations wherever they exist.”

Syrian opposition media sharing this video claiming to be from inside the Military College in Homs moments after the drone attack. According to @syriahr, the death toll has risen to more than 60, among them 9 civilians, and over 120 people injured, dozens in critical condition. pic.twitter.com/t34Y6GIoWl

— Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) October 5, 2023