More than 110 people were killed on Thursday October 5, 2023 in an attack on a military academy in Syria, at a time when Turkey carried out strikes against Kurdish areas which left at least 11 dead.
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The attack on a promotion ceremony for regime officers in Homs was attributed to “ terrorist organizations » by the Syrian army, which promised to “ retaliate firmly “. It was conducted “ using drones loaded with explosives “, according to the army.
The attack made “ 112 dead including 21 civilians » and at least 120 injured, according to a new report from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), an organization based in the United Kingdom with a vast network of sources in Syria. Syrian Health Minister Hassan al-Ghobash announced an assessment “ preliminary » of 80 deaths, « including six women and six children », and around 240 injured. The attack has not been claimed. Jihadist groups which control part of Syrian territory sometimes use armed drones.
Government forces responded with bombings which, according to residents, targeted the Idleb region, the country’s last rebel stronghold, in the northwest. The OSDH reported eight deaths and 30 injured.
Turkish strikes on Kurdish positions in northern Syria
On Thursday, Turkish drones targeted oil sites, two power plants, a dam and a factory during the day in the province of Hassaké, controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a coalition dominated by the Kurds. Kurdish forces announced that Turkey had carried out 21 strikes that left 11 people dead, including five civilians and six members of the security forces.
In the evening, Turkish media reported new Turkish strikes against Kurdish forces in Syria, saying that “ PKK/YPG arms and ammunition depots destroyed » during an operation carried out by units of MIT, the intelligence services. Turkey claims to be acting in retaliation for an attack which targeted the Interior Ministry in Ankara on Sunday, injuring two police officers. According to her, the perpetrators of the attack, claimed by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK, Turkish Kurdish), were trained in Syria, accusations denied by the leader of the FDS, Mazloum Abdi.
The SDF spearheaded the fight against the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group in Syria in 2019 and still enjoys support from Washington. Ankara considers the main component of the SDF, the YPG (People’s Protection Units), as an extension of the PKK, described as a “terrorist organization” by Turkey and its Western allies.
In Washington, the American Department of Defense announced that the United States had shot down a drone from its Turkish ally in Syria on Thursday, believing that it represented a potential threat to American forces there. “ This is truly an unfortunate incident, American commanders considered that the drone, which was less than 500m from American forces, posed a potential threat. And as a result, American F-16 fighter jets shot down the drone as a self-defense measure », Declares Pentagon spokesperson General Pat Ryder.
“ There is a clear escalation since the Turkish threats » formulated after Ankara’s attack against areas controlled by the autonomous Kurdish administration in northeast Syria, said FDS spokesperson Farhad Chami.
Started in 2011, the conflict in Syria has left more than half a million dead and divided the country, where the United States, Russia, an ally of the regime, and Turkey have deployed troops in different regions.
(and with AFP)