In Syria at least 78 people were killed in a drone attack on a graduation ceremony at a military academy. This was reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights based in London. Accordingly, nine civilians are said to be among the dead. In addition, around 140 people are said to have been injured in Thursday’s attack in Homs. The number of victims could continue to rise because some of the injured are in critical condition. The organization bases its information on information from local activists. Initially, no group claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Syrian army had previously said that “armed terrorist organizations” had attacked the graduation ceremony of military college officer students. The army wants to react “with the utmost severity” to the “cowardly act of terrorism”.
The Syrian Observatory suspected that it could be an attack by either the militant Islamist militia Haiat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) or the terrorist group Islamic State (IS). Both want to overthrow the government of President Bashar al-Assad. This now controls two thirds of the country again, including the province of Homs.
The conflict in Syria began in spring 2011 with anti-government protests. The government took violent action against it. This later developed into a civil war with international involvement. There is no political solution to the conflict in sight.
