Dozens of casualties have been reported in Syria's central Homs governorate following a deadly drone attack that hit a military college after the end of an officers’ graduation ceremony on 5 October.
In a statement released by the armed forces, authorities said the attack was conducted by “armed terrorist organizations supported by well-known international parties." The statement highlights that women and children are among those critically injured.
No official death toll has been released as of press time, however, local reports say the number of dead could surpass 50, with over 150 injured.
The attack took place as graduating officers were taking photos with their families.
Syrian Defense Minister Ali Abbas, who was present during the graduation ceremony, left immediately after it ended, with the attack taking place 20 minutes later.
Homs has also often come under attack from Israeli air strikes. In July, Damascus said it had shot down a number of Israeli missiles near Homs.
Soon after Thursday's terror attack, the Syrian army began shelling the headquarters of the Turkistan Islamic Party in the vicinity of Jisr al-Shughur in the northwestern countryside of Idlib governorate.
Damascus has been conducting raids in Idlib and Aleppo over recent days, targeting the positions of several extremist armed groups with ties to ISIS and Al-Qaeda.
Earlier on Thursday, Turkish drones bombed multiple locations in the northeast Hasakah governorate controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
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