Drone attack
80 dead after attack on military academy in Syria
Injured in a hospital in Idlib. Dozens of people were killed in a drone attack on a military academy in the city of Homs. photo
© Uncredited/Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets/AP
Graduates of a military academy in Syria celebrate their graduation when a drone attacks. Dozens of people are killed. The Syrian leadership wants to react with the utmost severity. But against whom?
The Syrian government has not yet released any official figures on the number of victims. However, she declared three days of national mourning starting Friday, as the state news agency Sana reported. 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”.
At least 80 people were killed in a drone attack on a graduation ceremony at a military academy in Syria. As Syrian Health Minister Hassan Al-Ghobash explained on Thursday evening, these should also include women and children. Accordingly, there are said to have been at least 240 injured. The number of victims is expected to continue to rise. According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the death toll is already over 100.
Was it IS or the HTS militia?
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.
Immediately after the attack on the military academy, the Syrian government is said to have attacked various areas around Idlib in the northwest of the country. Idlib is considered the last rebel stronghold in the civil war country. According to the White Helmets rescue organization, at least five civilians are said to have died in the attacks. Accordingly, there were also 38 injured.
The conflict in Syria began in spring 2011 with protests against the government. 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.