File image.
At least 40 people were killed or wounded on October 5 afternoon when a drone attack targeted the Syrian Military Academy near the central city of Homs.
The attack took place after the annual graduation ceremony for new officers, the Syrian state TV reported, adding that the attack resulted in a “large number of casualties”.
According to the Syrian Military Capabilities, a pro-government page on Facebook with credible sources, ten were killed and 30 others were wounded as a result of the drone attack. The page noted that not all the casualties were service members as many civilians were at the academy at the time of the attack to attend the graduation of their relatives and friends.
Syrian opposition activists alleged that Defense Minister Major General Ali Mahmoud Abbas, who was attending the graduation ceremony, was among the wounded in the drone attack. However, Sputnik reported, citing Syrian security sources, that the attack actually took place more than 20 minutes after the minister and other senior Syrian Arab Army (SAA) officers left the academy.
In a statement shared by the official Syrian Arab News Agency, the Syrian Ministry of Defense said that the drone attack was carried out by “terrorist groups backed by known international powers.”
The ministry also confirmed that some of those killed or wounded in the attack were civilians, without providing any specific numbers.
“The General Command of the Army and Armed Forces considers this cowardly terrorist act an unprecedented criminal act and affirms that it will respond with full force and determination to these terrorist groups wherever they are found, it also stresses that the planners and executors of this criminal act will be held accountable,” the ministry’s statement reads.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the deadly attack. In the past, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an al-Qaeda offshoot that controls the northwestern region of Greater Idlib, was blamed for similar attacks with drones.
Earlier this week, the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria warned that the Turkistan Islamic Party and Ansar al-Tawhid, two close allies of HTS, were planning to launch attacks from Greater Idlib with drones and rockets.
The attack on the Syrian Military Academy will likely lead to serious escalation in Greater Idlib, where a ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey more than three years ago is still in place. The SAA and its allies could launch strikes against the region. A ground operation also seems possible, although it might lead to a confrontation with the Turkish military who maintains a large force there.
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unknown drone strike again 🤔
the work of the kikes.. who else..
this is the result of appeasement. syrians hunted by murder robots with impunity, while zionist jews sleep peacefully. putin loves his kikes.
yeah, syrian officials will now sit together on a couch and pout. the syrian government reflects a poor image. a solitary drone over such an important area cannot be stopped. the reaction “with full force and determination” – judging from what we’ve seen, that means nothing will be done about it. some more drastic steps would be needed; can syria take them?